Mount Carmel High School (Chicago) - Campus

Campus

The Mount Carmel campus is located at the intersection of East 64th Street and South Dante Avenue, near Lake Michigan, historic Jackson Park, and the University of Chicago campus. The oldest surviving campus structures are the Carmelite Chapel and three-story main building from 1924 (see above photo).

In the 1950s, Mt. Carmel built a Student Center on the north side of the main building. Then in 1968, a grant from the Archdiocese of Chicago's "Project: Renew" permitted the construction of a learning center and library that connected the main building to the student center. The campus would grow again to include a practice field on the south end of the property, now named Carey Field.

Thanks to the Capital Campaign Case Study, the Walter Scott School property was acquired- and in 1992, construction began on a new monastery for the Carmelites. The Graham Center was then constructed on the site of the old Carmelite Monastery. Although the old Priory was demolished to make room for the science and computer center, the original Chapel was saved and given a facelift. In 1999, the Scott School property was used to build Haggerty Field for soccer and baseball. The campus again expanded in 2005 by adding the Mt. Carmel Convocation Center on the site of the old student parking lot. This addition is home to offices and meeting areas for alumni and faculty, a student center/dining hall, new computer and science labs, and the Cacciatore Athletic Center. The athletic center features three gyms, an indoor track, locker rooms and a modern weight room. A new student parking lot was built on the north end of the campus.

Ongoing maintenance to existing facilities have included renovations to the original pool and Carey Field- now a multipurpose Sprint Turf playing surface. The 'Old Gym' is still maintained to host athletic competition, including the school's annual Fight Night boxing event. The school has future plans to renovate the main building, while also adding a new library and technology center, auditorium and performing arts center.