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By Ron Becker, Class of 2019

A recent report recommended adding a dome to Solider Field. Should that come to pass, it would add another dome to the glorious collection already existing in Chicago. Here are a dozen of the domes that already grace Chicagoland.

Any listing of domes must include those in the Chicago Cultural Center. There we have the world’s largest Tiffany dome in Preston Bradley Hall and. And the recently restored dome in the G.A. R. rooms was designed in collaboration with the Tiffany Company and architects from Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and fabricated by Healy & Millet of Chicago.

The dome in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Fullerton Hall is another collaboration between the Tiffany Company and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge. Healy & Millet did the remaining decoration in the hall.

The Driehaus Museum is home to an outstanding stained glass dome, the work of architect George Washington Maher and the glass firm of Giannini & Hilgart.

The Elks National Memorial and Headquarters Building stands at the north end of Lincoln Park. Designed by architect Egerton Swartwout, the memorial was dedicated on July 14, 1926. The allegorical murals below the dome are by Edwin H. Blashfield and Eugene Savage.

The Baha’i Temple in Wilmette is only a few blocks from a CTA station. The beautiful design of architect Louis Bourgeois was realized by the pre-cast concrete expertise of John J. Earley of Earley Studio in Washington, D.C.

If you like your domes golden, there is the Garfield Park Field House. The architects were Christian Michaelsen and Sigurd Rognstad, designing in a Spanish Baroque Revival style.

One of the strengths of Chicago is our ecclesiastical architecture. Domes feature prominently in many of their designs. Here are a few:

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral, designed by Louis Sullivan with an eight-sided chandelier by Healy & Millet.

St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church, designed by Henry W. Worthmann and John G. Steinbach, bears a resemblance to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Saints Volodymyr and Ohla Ukrainian Catholic Church was designed by Yaroslav Korsunsky in the Byzantine-Ukrainian style of 11-13th century Ukraine.

St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church has thirteen domes representing Christ and the twelve apostles. It is another design by Worthmann & Steinbach; this time based on Saint Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv.

If pure size is desirable, we have the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library on the University of Chicago campus, designed by Helmut Jahn.

Fortunately for us, many of these domes are open to the public. More of them have been featured in various renditions of Open House Chicago. Go–and enjoy.

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