Straight ahead, you’ll spot Fenwick High School by its striking neo-Gothic design-look for tall, stately stone walls and arched windows with a hint of classic, cathedral-like grandeur.
Welcome to the grand finale of our tour-Fenwick High School, where tradition meets top-notch education and sports drama unfolds louder than a gym packed for a rival basketball game! Imagine for a moment: it’s 1929, the world is on the brink of the Great Depression, but here in Oak Park, a group of Dominican friars has a bold idea. They roll up their brown sleeves, call on architect Wilfred E. Anthony, and build this very school, complete with all the pointy arches and carved stone you’d expect from a place that shares design DNA with Notre Dame’s famous Basilica.
Right from the start, Fenwick wasn’t your average high school-it was a college prep haven where neckties were nonnegotiable, and blazers signaled assembly days. The friars meant business: every student was trained for the likes of Notre Dame or Georgetown, and the dress code was so sharp you’d think even the chalk dust wore a jacket. But even the most tradition-bound places aren’t immune to change: by the early 1990s, with enrollment and tuition both getting shaky, the school flung open its doors to girls for the first time. The first coed class even had Bridgid Esposito as its valedictorian-talk about smashing the glass ceiling with a graduation cap!
Stand here and picture the buzz of the 1945 football championship. Soldier Field, 80,000 fans, Fenwick steamrolling Tilden. The crowd went wild-if you listen, you might just picture the thunder of Fenwick’s fans cheering a touchdown. Wait, it gets better: in 1962, more than 91,000 people watched Fenwick dominate Schurz High. Those moments? They made Illinois football history.
And it’s not just about sports. Since the first day of classes, Fenwick has insisted on a 100% college matriculation rate-every last student heads for higher learning. The school is regularly showered with Blue Ribbon awards, and in the 2000s, Fenwick students raked in scholarship offers worth tens of millions of dollars. The class of 2010-2011 alone netted $40 million in merit-based scholarships! I’m willing to bet their mail rooms got a lot of extra use during college acceptance season...
Don’t just scan the grand entrance and the neo-Gothic turrets-a lot whirls inside these halls. You’ve got math teams so good they could probably calculate the exact number of bricks in this building before you blink; drama and writing clubs who win as many awards as the school’s athletic teams; and a required Christian Service Project that gets every student into the community doing hands-on good. There’s even an academic club or three for those who prefer algebraic puzzle-solving over free throws.
Now, let’s not forget the superstars among the Friars. There’s everyone from Major General Michael D. Healy, a real-life action hero, to Pulitzer-winning writers, Olympic champions, pro athletes, business titans, and even an astronaut who flew on Skylab! A little inspiration for the next generation, right?
Fenwick isn’t just a school owned and staffed by the Dominican Order-it’s the only one like it in the United States, a unique experiment in blending rigorous academics, faith, service, and, of course, legendary football. So as you look up at those proud, sky-reaching stone towers, remember: you’re in the company of over ninety years of Friars, each with their own small claim to fame, their own stories of pride and tradition, all within these walls. The spirit here? It doesn’t graduate; it just keeps passing the torch-one tie, one blazer, and one winning play at a time.
Yearning to grasp further insights on the academics, extracurricular achievements or the notable alumni? Dive into the chat section below and ask away.
