Five U-High Hidden Gems to appreciate

Maya Gauhar, Reporter

October 3, 2025

Midway Staff

Reporter Maya Gauhar explored U-High and highlighted five of the school’s features that students might overlook.

Five U-High Hidden Gems to appreciate

(Simon Vaang)

Icons on Sunny Gymnasium

Perched above the Sunny Gymnasium entrance in the P.E. buildings are eight miniature icons each representing a sport that was offered in early Lab history. These icons overlook the doorway and each hold objects that range from a football to a bow and arrow, representing the various sports. These sports are baseball, archery, tennis, wrestling, basketball, field hockey, swimming and football.

(Simon Vaang)

Original water fountain in Blaine Hallway outside S119

Engraved on the fountain is an illustration of two smiling children holding hands, dresses flowing behind them as they appear to step forward. According to the University of Chicago Photographic Archive, this drinking fountain in Blaine Hall was designed by Mabel Laundrum Torrey in memory of a kindergarten teacher at the Laboratory Schools, Katharine Martin. It was presented by alumni and her former students in 1931, after Ms. Martin died a year prior. This fountain continues to preserve the memory of Ms. Martin even nearly 100 years later.

(Ezra Peek Taylor)

History classroom mural

Stretching across the walls in C-125, a history classroom, is an extensive painted mural of a history timeline, which was originally created by a group of students in preparation for the AP Modern European History exam. This remarkable mural was completed in the 1990s, and was worked on over the summer by these students. Additionally, other walls in the room display canvases for the student-run play “Shadow of the Sun,” art based on Stefan Zweig's “World of Yesterday,” and a second historical timeline of European art. According to teacher Christy Gerst, who now teaches in the room, these murals reflect a less-pressured time where students were able to come outside of class for activities such as painting together, offering a captivating time capsule of the 1990s and early 2000s.

(Simon Vaang)

Original lockers from Belfield Hall before it was remodeled

In 1904, the University High School moved into the newly built Belfield Hall. Few students know that the original music lockers from before Belfield Hall was remodeled in 2015 still remain. The project renovated the east side of Blaine Hall, and Director of Operations Joe Wachowski speculates that the lockers were left to acknowledge the layout of the building and to keep the original casework intact in certain areas. Along with the lockers, some areas of millwork and flooring were left unrenovated in Blaine Hall.

(Simon Vaang)

Lab Logs plaque

The Lab Logs plaque, located in the Blaine courtyard, is a commemoration plaque honoring Jonathon Scammon (1812-1890), who was involved in founding the University of Chicago and was an advocate for a free public schools system. This plaque was installed during the construction of the playground in 2017, and was a collaborative effort of lower school students and administration to help with the selection and layout of the playground.

community

U-High Midway

U-High Midway

U-High Midway

Five U-High Hidden Gems to appreciate

U-High Midway

Comments (1)