By Joanne Linzer, Class of 2000
Churches in America are declining at a rate of about 7,000 per year. Approximately 135 churches close permanently each week in our country. In the 1960s, Richard Nickel, a prominent and significant figure in the historic preservation movement in Chicago, wrote to the Chicago Tribune, “In this day of mass tourist flights to the capitals of Europe where Americans continue to see ‘culture’, can we not open our eyes to our own treasures and heed what is happening to them?”
As a child I could look at the horizon and knew by the design of the church steeples or towers that protruded up into the skyline what neighborhood I was in. Now many of those towers are gone, our church treasures are declining, and this historic heritage is lost. Immigrants who used craftsmanship learned from previous generations in their home country built many of these churches. The result brought signature designs that were unique to their new Chicago neighborhoods. Each church is a repository of memories, music, events that took place, murals displayed, and of course the architecture itself.
But the bigger story is about saving these places of worship rather than just having a memory of them. A major reason these architectural gems are difficult to maintain is economic. For example, The Shrine of Christ the King has suffered two fires and is seeking private donations to rebuild. Designed by noted architect Henry J. Schlacks, it was completed in 1923. Two other churches by Henry Schlacks are in danger. St. Adalbert in the Pilsen neighborhood, completed 1914, is slated for demolition. And the plan for St. Boniface at Chestnut and Nobel, completed in 1902, is that it will be converted to a music center and condominiums.
Are there other options beyond demolition and new construction? Yes! One success story is that of the Shrine and Chapel of Mother Cabrini. The church was surrounded by Columbus Hospital which itself was demolished in 2006. Controversy over how to develop the site and whether the shrine would remain on the property ensued. After much speculation, determination, and planning, the shrine was saved, creating a quiet, urban garden area outside of the new luxury high-rise.
A piece of history can be rescued by adaptive reuse. Ornate fixtures, pipe organs, masonry arches, cornices, entablatures, shutters, columns, wooden balustrades, stained glass windows, and even facades can continue to be displayed as the church buildings are converted to hotels, concert halls, condos, restaurants, and even homes.
Churches by Bus celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016 by visiting a variety of churches in the Chicago area and its neighborhoods: Ascension Episcopal, Christ the Savior Orthodox, First St. Paul’s Lutheran, Mother Cabrini Shrine and Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist. Each year we highlight the architecture and the stories these buildings convey. It’s an important mission—once a piece of architectural history is destroyed, it is lost forever.
Thank you for helping make Churches by Bus a success. We hope to see you on the tour this year.
Editor’s note: Long-time docent Chuck Fiori developed the Churches by Bus tour. When he retired in 2010, Dave Utech, 2003, and Joanne Linzner, 2000, became tour co-directors.
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