A Little Plan
There is a lot of Burnham going around in Chicago these days. It's the anniversary of
the publication of a seminal work of urban planning and architecture, The Chicago Plan, which Burnham and associate Edward Bennett, presented to the city and the world, 100 years ago.
Much of what makes Chicago Chicago, is the result of this herculean effort, and Burnham
left his mark on the city with some outstanding buildings constructed during the late 1800s and early 1900s. But, before Daniel Burnham became the Daniel Burnham of the Flatiron Building in New York, he and partner John Wellborn Root built a few smaller, less monumental structures that have just as much integrity as the bigger, flashier projects.
Tucked on a corner lot at the intersection of Broadway and Addison sits one of the most
charming, extant buildings that came out of the Burnham & Root office, Lake View Presbyterian Church. When the building was under construction in 1887, this meeting of streets was far on the outskirts of the hectic city, which at the time, was much further south. The simple, Shingle-style church seems better suited for its original bucolic suburban setting rather than the noisy, traffic-filled street its front door opens on to today, but even 110 years and a substantially, changed neighborhood later, this unpretentious building still has a powerful presence.
I remembered this church looking different somehow, but couldn't quite put my finger on
what had changed. While taking some pictures a man walked up and asked if we were visitors, and I said, we were recent arrivals. He told us that he lived in the neighborhood and the building had undergone an extensive renovation and rehab about 5 years ago. When I told him it didn't look the same to me, he said he wasn't surprised, it had been painted white for years and had different exterior siding.
When we got home I Googled the church to see if they had a website, and low and behold,
there it was, the white painted church, prior to the start of the restoration in 2004. The congregation should be very proud of their efforts to restore the church and preserve a small, but significant part of the city's architectural heritage.
Posted by designslinger at 6/11/2009 2:15 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Architects, Preservation
Tags: Chicago John Wellborn Root Daniel Burnham church architecture
Categories: Architecture, History, Architects, Preservation
Tags: Chicago John Wellborn Root Daniel Burnham church architecture
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