De La Salle Institute

De La Salle Institute is a private, Catholic, coeducational secondary school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was founded by Brother Adjutor of the De La Salle Brothers (French or Lasallian Christian Brothers) in 1889. The school is considered a historic institution on Chicago's South Side. It is located three blocks east of Guaranteed Rate Field, the home of MLB's Chicago White Sox. While located in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood, it has very strong ties to the nearby Bridgeport neighborhood. The school is separated from Bridgeport and Guaranteed Rate Field by the Dan Ryan Expressway. While coming from a commemorative book published by the school, the authors of American Pharaoh:Mayor Richard J. Daley: His Battle for Chicago and the Nation note the following about the school's impact on the history of Chicago: "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton" but "the business leaders of Chicago were trained in the Counting Rooms of De La Salle." History De La Salle Institute was founded by Brother Adjutor, a former director of St. Patrick High School, in 1889, after being chartered by the State of Illinois the previous year. The laying of the cornerstone on May 19, 1889 was a major event which began with an hour-long parade through the streets of Chicago. The ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Patrick Feehan, the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Classes and graduation ceremonies were held elsewhere until the building was complete, opening for students on 7 September 1891.