St. James, Chicago IL

First of all, let me say "hello" again. It's been ages since I've posted anything. Kevin has been doing a fantastic job keeping all of this going.

One of the church in the immediate area where I live is slated for demolition in the coming weeks. The church has been "abandoned" for just over 4 years now. The story goes that it was "condemned" by the Archdiocese of Chicago after the Cathedral caught on fire and its roof suffered damage around the same time. The same architect designed both the cathedral and St. James, as well as Nativity of Our Lord HERE and HERE, that I have also posted on, among a few other churches in the diocese. Thus, all churches in the diocese that were designed by the architect, Patrick Keeley, were examined out of "precaution" for similar potential defects (the roof damage, potential for collapse).

Here are some news articles to read up on about the church:

http://www.wbez.org/blogs/lee-bey/2012-10/st-james-infirmity-distressed-century-old-catholic-church-heads-toward 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-03-29/entertainment/chi-kogan-st-james-20130329_1_new-church-palm-sunday-old-church

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-18/news/chi-save-st-james-catholic-church-20130418-quigley_briefs_1_archdiocese-historic-st-bronzeville

Below is the damage that was done over the past 4 years in examining the church for its structural integrity. These interior pictures are from a few months ago. All outside pictures are from today. The interior is now, from what I understand, nearly empty. The organ was removed last month (I got to play it when I visited). The last of the bells were removed today. The pews, status, etc are said to have been removed. The remaining stain glass windows I believe will be removed (they are Tiffany windows). The church caught fire in the 1970's and most of the stained glass windows were destroyed and never restored.

The diocese is supposed to build another church, at a supposed lower cost than renovating the current one. (The parish currently celebrates mass in a hall across the street).  The parish hopes to have the 20 bell chimes and the organ (among other artifacts) reused in a new church. Currently, the diocese is putting these items in "storage". Who knows what that means.

Below are some pictures of the bells. 

The diocese is supposed to build another church, at a supposed lower cost than renovating the current one. (The parish currently celebrates mass in a hall across the street).  The parish hopes to have the 20 bell chimes and the organ (among other artifacts) reused in a new church. Currently, the diocese is putting these items in "storage". Who knows what that means.

 

I hope to be able to get into the
church before the wrecking ball hits. There is fierce resistance from the parishioners, so the legal battle is still being fought. If I can get pictures of the demo I will. It's a really sad story, such a beautiful church building in a neighborhood that has little of its original charm left. 

 

Sorry for the watermarks (and that huge spacing issue) Since it's sort of a media issue here, I just ought to protect myself a little. I also haven't posted in quite a while, and the editor has changed - not used to it! :-P Will post again soon!