Second Presbyterian Church (Chicago)
Second Presbyterian Church | |
Chicago Landmark | |
Chicago, Illinois | |
Coordinates | 41°51′21″N 87°37′28″W / 41.85583°N 87.62444°W |
---|---|
Built | 1874 |
Architect | Renwick & Sands; Shaw, Howard Van Doren |
Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 74000754[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 27, 1974 |
Designated NHL | February 27, 2013 |
Designated CL | September 28, 1977 |
Second Presbyterian Church is a landmark
History of the congregation
Second Presbyterian Church organized in 1842 as an offshoot of the city's first Presbyterian congregation, which had formed in 1833. From 1851 until 1871, the congregation worshipped in a church at the northeast corner of Wabash Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Chicago. Known as the spotted church because of the tar deposits in its limestone blocks, this building was designed by the noted eastern architect,
Many wealthy Chicago residents attended Second Presbyterian, including members of the
As of 2023, the diverse church had about 125 members.[5] The church "also serves many visitors seeking meals, music, and community" in addition to after-school tutoring, practice space for the South Loop Symphony Orchestra, and a basketball gymnasium.[5]
Original appearance of the church
For its new building on South Michigan Avenue at 20th Street (now Cullerton), the congregation again turned to James Renwick. Renwick designed a church based on early English Gothic examples, with a high-pitched gable roof, a rose window in the east wall, and a corner bell tower. The exterior is clad in limestone with sandstone trim. Sculpture on the exterior is limited; the Four Evangelists and the head of Jesus appear on the entry wall on Michigan Avenue and gargoyles loom from the bell tower. The interior was also thoroughly Gothic, with pointed arches leading to the side aisles, slender iron columns supporting the balcony, and extensive stenciling adorning the walls. The sanctuary in the new building was dedicated in 1874.
In March 1900, fire gutted the sanctuary. The church turned to one of its members,
The remodeled interior
Shaw, working with his friend, the painter
The church's figurative art, with dozens of angels in glass, wood, and plaster, and two brightly colored saints in the lobby windows, is perhaps surprising for a Presbyterian congregation. This congregation, however, was culturally sophisticated and well-traveled. Many members had seen the great cathedrals of Europe and wanted their home church to make an equivalent artistic statement.
In line with the
A number of recurring motifs tie the various interior elements together. The most obvious is that of the angel. Some 175 grace the interior, including the four heralding angels above the organ loft and those carved into the brackets from which the chandeliers hang. Another recurring motif is the grapevine, found in the pew ends, the light screen at the sanctuary's rear, many of Bartlett's murals, and the dull gold of the screen concealing the organ pipes.[7] The congregation installed a Hutchins-Votey organ following the 1900 fire.[8] The Austin Organ Co. reworked the instrument in 1917 as its Opus 767, providing it with a two-manual console and ten ranks.[9] The organ today has 43 ranks and 2,600 pipes.
Second Presbyterian Church occupies a prominent place in Chicago's social and industrial history and its artistic heritage. Its glorious interior is now being seen by a wider audience after decades of semi-obscurity. Tours featuring the art and architecture of the building are offered on a regular schedule. Friends of Historic Second Church, organized in 2006, was formed to guide the accurate restoration of the building and to oversee tours and events.
Murals
Bartlett's pre-Raphaelite murals are one of the glories of the sanctuary, and they were widely published after their completion.
The majestic 40-foot-wide mural behind the altar represents the tree of life surmounted by a heavenly rainbow. Above that is a celestial orchestra in medieval robes. Bartlett's care in blending decoration to the sanctuary's architecture is evident; his rainbow echoes the curve of the ceiling. Bartlett's work in the twelve bays of the balcony centers on the themes of praise, abundance, and sacred music. Texts from scripture are painted on the walls below the figures.[7]
Many of these murals were restored in the 2010s and early 2020s.[5]
Windows
When the sanctuary was rededicated in 1901, many of its arched openings contained simple windows with small, stylized floral designs by Shaw and executed by the firm of Gianini and Hilgart. Between 1894 and 1927,[5] the bays began to be filled with specially commissioned memorial windows. Now, only the last bay on the north side of the church displays Shaw's work. Members of the congregation gave the other windows in memory of departed loved ones. Nine of the windows are by Louis Comfort Tiffany’s firm and display many of the innovative glass-working techniques that he pioneered. Tiffany looked to get artistic effects from the character of the glass itself rather than by painting on the glass. He used folded glass, confetti glass, striated glass, and multiple layers of glass. The windows portray a variety of Biblical scenes, landscapes, and ornamental designs. In the east end of the church is a boldly colored representation of the Ascension, designed by William Fair Kline. Below it are the five scourges or Arma Christi of Jesus.[11] Other sanctuary windows were designed by Louis J. Millet and McCully & Miles.
-
Pastoral window byTiffany Studios, 1917
-
Ascension window by William Fair Kline, 1903
-
St. Cecilia window by Edward Burne-Jones, late 19th century
The two
In a multi-million dollar project, several windows have completed extensive renovation and repair and additional window repair was ongoing as of 2023.[5]
See also
- Chicago Landmark
- List of Registered Historic Places in Chicago
References
Notes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "Second Presbyterian Church". City of Chicago. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ^ "AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS: Secretary Salazar, Director Jarvis Designate 13 New National Historic Landmarks" (Press release). US Department of the Interior. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ^ Poole, Ernest (1943). Giants Gone: Men Who Made Chicago. Whittlesey House.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mitchell, Heidi (Summer 2023). Hockman, Dennis (ed.). "Let There Be Light". Preservation. 75 (3). Washington, D.C., USA: National Trust for Historic Preservation: 19, 22, 24, 26.
- ISBN 978-1556522864.
- ^ a b c Robie, Virginia (1904). "Church Decorations by Frederic C. Bartlett". House Beautiful. pp. 8–10.
- ^ "Minutes of the Board of Trustees". Second Presbyterian Church. 23 March 1903.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "Organs in the Midwest". Austin Organs, Inc. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
- ^ Waggoner, J. Paul (Fall 1997). "Chicago's Crown Jewel of the Arts and Crafts Movement: Second Presbyterian Church". Nineteenth Century. Vol. 17, no. 2. pp. 39–43.
- ^ ISBN 978-0829404357.