Saint Francis Xavier High School, Wilmette, Illinois, Perspective Sketch

Architect Barry Byrne spent nearly 20 years working in the studio of Frank Lloyd Wight, and his later projects show how the Prairie School model shifted as it moved from houses to public buildings such as churches and schools. His commission for the Xavier High School in suburban Wilmette references Gothic architecture, a style commonly used for religious buildings in the United States. Byrne’s designs from around this time take on increasingly expressionistic forms, combining the geometric precision of the Prairie School with the streamlined qualities of Art Deco.