Every day on my way home from work, I walk past this lovely yet tragic looking Romanesque church at the corner of Noble and Chestnut in Chicago's East Village. Little did I know that this building has been the center of an off and on argument of sorts between neighbors and the Archdiocese since 1980.
The brick building stands tall and ominous over open ball fields. Most of the windows are boarded up; the ground floor entrances are bricked closed with cinderblocks, there is a chain link fence around the perimeter. Four bell towers stand empty. Strings blow in the wind around a broken window from where a banner used to hang. It looks like it could have been a beautiful place of worship during its heyday.
All I had heard of the church was from my roommate. It was featured in a book his grandmother owned about the country's most beautiful churches and was known for its stained glass windows. Then one day I was intrigued by Carey Primeau's photos on Chicagoist of the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. I followed the link to his site titled "neglected beauty". Primeau photographs buildings that have been neglected and turned into unfortunate disasters. Saint Boniface is one of his subjects, and I instantly knew that it was the church I see everyday. I wanted to know more.
Saint Boniface Parish was founded in 1862 for German immigrants. The church that stands today was erected in 1902. It was designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks, who apprenticed at Chicago's pioneer firm Adler and Sullivan (recently made famous again by the book Devil in the White City). The church itself closed its doors in 1989, but there were originally five buildings that stood on the property. There were two convents, one demolished in 1994, and the other in 2003. The school, which closed in 1983, was also demolished in 2003. All that remains is the church and rectory.
After closing, the all-but-abandoned church attracted homeless, drug users and vagrants to break in. Fearing for the safety of the neighborhood, neighbors complained to the church, which finally prompted the Archdiocese to brick shut the ground level entrances. All along the Catholic Church has alleged that all the problems and closings resulted from a lack of funds by the Archdiocese. Despite this, the Archdiocese has been unwilling to sell the property, or simply ignores inquires. In 2006 there was a Coptic Church group interested in restoring the building, but the church ignored the offer amid talks of selling the property to a developer for a high-rise condo building. Oddly enough, the property is a prime piece of real estate that sits just west of the interstate with an unobstructed view of the city skyline, prompting one to think they may simply be waiting for the land to appreciate to sell to the highest bidder.
I am not a Catholic or a religious person, in fact, if prompted I would call myself an agnostic, but I do have an appreciation for beautiful architecture and for people and history. After everything I've learned about the St. Boniface, I can still only think of one word to describe the entire situation: a shame. Hopefully one day Saint Boniface will be restored to its original and intended beauty and people can once again come together there.
http://www.saintbonifaceinfo.com/SaintBoniface/Home.html
http://careyprimeau.com/section/26619.html
http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/boniface/boniface.htm
http://flickr.com/photos/shellster129/sets/72157603484054150/
(These are pictures I took in December)
