University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) at Illinois Tech’s Paul V. Galvin Library has contributed digitized Lewis Institute yearbooks to the Digital Public Library of America, a nonprofit organization that provides access to digitized archival material from libraries, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions across the country.

The Lewis Institute was a technical and professional college that served the greater Chicago area from 1896 to 1940. It was created by the bequest of Chicago businessman Allen Cleveland Lewis (1821–1877), who willed his estate to the creation of a school of higher learning open to all men and women regardless of finances or social standing. When Lewis Institute opened in 1896, it offered a high school program, a two-year degree, and a four-year engineering degree. In 1940 The Lewis Institute merged with Armour Institute of Technology to form Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Lewis Annual collection includes yearbooks from the Lewis Institute from 1906–40. The yearbooks document the academic and social life of the school. They include photographs and descriptions of faculty, students, clubs, societies, and athletics, as well as students’ illustrations and literary contributions.

Access the digitized yearbooks at DPLA. For more information, contact UASC.