Musical Delights
Okay so it's not Lollapalooza, but we've been venturing out almost every Tuesday evening
and heading down to the summer concert series at St. James Cathedral.
The performance auditorium is, of course, the sanctuary of the church, which provides a
delightful visual accompaniment to the music. It's hard to imagine men hauling the huge pieces of timber truss work into place, let alone carving those giant chunks of wood. The stone sash window opening at the rear has no glass, which makes it easier to understand the elements that make-up Gothic-Revival, tracery detailing.
The St. James parish was established in 1834, just one year after Chicago was incorporated
as a city. Parishioners moved to this site in 1857, and Abraham Lincoln attended services here following his winning the nomination to the Presidency in 1860.
It's hard to believe, but the interior has only looked this way only since 1985, when the
church underwent a huge restoration. The original Arts and Crafts stenciling was completed in 1889 by designer Edward J. Neville Stent, a student of the British Arts and Crafts movement founder William Morris. But as time went on, the interior looked old and dowdy to a more modern congregation, so all the artwork was covered over! The restored space now contains the largest example of Victorian hand stenciling in the U.S.
The church stood directly in the path of the Chicago Fire, which obliterated the
surrounding, upscale, residential community. The edifice was destroyed, except for the tower and a portion of the entrance. The parish of St. James built a new church incorporating the tower, with the first service commencing in 1875, which have continued ever since. I remember a story about the Joliet Limestone cross that sits over the entrance to the Chapel of St. Andrew. Supposedly, the cross originally sat perched, high-up above the central door, at the roof peak. It tumbled to the ground when the wall collapsed under the extreme heat of the fire, was found in the rubble, and placed above the side entryway as a reminder of all that was lost in the fire, while the church, the parish, and the city, rose from the ashes and survived. It may just be an urban myth, but sometimes myths make good stories.
Posted by designslinger at 8/13/2009 2:25 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Preservation, History, Decorative Arts
Tags: Arts and Crafts movement Chicago Fire St. James Cathedral
Categories: Architecture, Preservation, History, Decorative Arts
Tags: Arts and Crafts movement Chicago Fire St. James Cathedral
Hello from the Ancient Digger,
I am truly loving your site and I'm so glad you visited mine. It's so nice to see that you are sharing more about a city that I adore. I haven't been there in years, but I have been to this Church many years ago.
I have subscribed to your blog.
Take care
Lauren
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Thank you for visiting, subscribing, and taking a moment to write us. We're enjoying our new city, as you can tell, and we were happy to have found you through Sharon's, Chicago History Journal.
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