Second Presbyterian Church - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 51.366 W 087° 37.434
16T E 448213 N 4633987
Designed by James Renwick, famed architect of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NY and the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C., the beautiful Gothic Revival structure was completed in 1874.
Waymark Code: WM70HD
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 08/14/2009
Views: 4
From (
visit link)
"When this Gothic Revival-style church was designed--by a prominent New York architect-- the surrounding streets, including Prairie Avenue, one block east, were lined with the homes of wealthy Chicagoans. Members of the congregation included the Glessners, the Pullmans, and the widow of President Abraham Lincoln."
From a brochure handed out at the church:
"The church was home to many Prairie Avenue industrialists and other prominent Chicago citizens. Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving son of Abraham Lincoln, served as a Trustee from 1879 to 1889.
When a fire destroyed a large portion of the sanctuary in 1900, the congregation hired architect Howard Van Doren Shaw to redesign the interior. He transformed the tall, narrow Gothic space into an Arts and Crafts style interior with liberal use of dark oak and plaster relief.
Artist Frederic Clay Bartlett created preRaphaelite-inspired murals in the balcony arches and the large Tree of Life mural that decorates the front wall of the church. Many unique light fixtures, an 1888 baptismal font, and numerous wood carvings all work together to create a robust and complex interior.
The narthex contains two of the finest English Arts and Crafts windows in the United States, designed by Edward Burne-Jones and executed in the William Morris Studios in London. Nine Tiffany stained glass windows, Healy and Millet’s masterpiece of American painted glass, and the Ascension Window by William Fair Kline adorn the sanctuary. There are 175 angels, including four life-size trumpeting angels, which add to the grandeur of this “crown jewel.”
The church is open to the public and tours are offered.
NOTE 8/5/2013: National Historic Landmark status conferred on 2/27/13! Although not yet in the database, it is listed in their pdf (see link below.)