Worship: Methodist & Episcopal

These Houses of Worship were either constructed in the the Township of Lake View (1857-87), 
the City of Lake View (1887-89), 

or the District of Lake View (1889-1930)
The Methodist Churches:

Broadway United Methodist Church

3338 N Broadway Street
originally called ....

a page from their 1926 directory - image Ebay

Original building 1901-1983
know before 1916 as 
Evanston Avenue Methodist Church

images - Ebay

 the building to right of his postcard is the current rectory

On a Monday, July 27, 1891, a committee made up of Charles Busby, Charles Lasher, Reverend Dolliver and A.D. Traveller, selected the church site on the corner of Evanston Avenue (now Broadway) and Buckingham Place. This site was purchased and the church building construction began. 

A sermon about crime in 1911

50 years in 1941

 

The original church was built of blue bedford stone with a red tile roof. The interior was finished in oak with a large truss ceiling and was completed in 1902. The sanctuary seated 450 congregants.The church staff ministered under the name Evanston Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church until 1914 when the name was changed to Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church in conjunction with the re-naming of several streets in Chicago. 

Serving the needy 1946

The Fire 1983

page - East Lake View by Matt Nickerson

photo - Lake View Patch 2012

 photo - Lake View Patch 2012

photo - Lake View Patch 2012

photo - Lake View Patch 2012

In 1946 the congregation opened a counseling adviser clinic for members of the community. The clinic dealt with issues such as unemployment, pre-marital & marital issues according to a 1946 Chicago Tribune article. This type of activity in a 'house of worship' was a bit avangard for that time period. In February 1983, a fire gutted the church and most of the beautiful stained-glass windows were lost. By 1969 the denominations of Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren merged into one congregation.

The Original Building was Destroyed 1983

 the newer church
photo - Reminders End

1998 The pastor, Rev. Greg Dell, of this church conducted a same-sex marriage ceremony on church property - a violation of church policy at the time and more than a decade before it became legal in the United States.

Reverend Dell in his church

photo - Chicago Tribune

photo - Michael Greene via Associated Press

Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church protests outside the Broadway United Methodist Church Sunday, Nov. 22, 1998 in Chicago. Rev. Phelps and family members came to the church to protest a September marriage between two gay men officiated by Methodist Rev. Gregory Dell. 

In the year 2000 ACLU of Illinois Gay and Lesbian Rights Project's annual John R. Hammell Awards brunch honored Rev. Gregory Dell for performing a same-sex union ceremony. He was suspended from Broadway United Methodist Church for that act but won praise from this gay-friendly neighborhood. Ten years later, Rev. Dell was inducted into Chicago's Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame Dell's ceremony sparked a change in national church policy. 

A church with "a wonderful history of being involved in and advocating for social justice movements" is now "ignoring the pain it causes" to a segment of society, he said in 2009.

a congregation with an apparent scene of humor 

Reverend Dell moves on in 2016

 The home of 'gay' friendly homeless youth

also the home of a Catholic based organization

View countless photos of this congregation via Flickr.

And view the post about the community that this 'house of worship' services in my post called Community of Boystown.

A Recipe Booklet from 1928

(part of my collection)

Diversey Blvd. Methodist Episcopal

1055 W Diversey Parkway

and now in the Community of Lincoln Park

a merger of Diversey Street Congregations in 1925

 another merger of churches in 1963

the current occupant ...
Iglesia Cristiana Unida
(United Christian Church)

before that ...
Holy Covenant United Methodist Church

and before that

Diversey Parkway Evangelical Church

926 W Diversey Parkway

and now in the Community of Lincoln Park

below text - church website 

Ravenswood Methodist Episcopal

4511 N Hermitage Avenue

Township of Lake View

photo - Chuckman Collection

1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

their baseball team in 1918

photo - Ebay

Ravenswood United Methodist Church

Ravenswood-Lake View Community Collection, 
Chicago Public Library via Explore Chicago

4 photos below - Chicago Sojourn

Ravenswood Methodist Evangelist Church was established in 1879 in Lake View Township and known currently know as the Ravenswood Fellowship. The church was constructed the year the City of Lake View merged with the City of Chicago

 

 Elim Swedish Methodist Episcopal

1021 Barry Avenue

District of Lake View

postcard - Chuckman Collection

photo - Ebay

This church was constructed in 1899 
(click on article to enlarge)

- now condos as of 2008 called The Steeples

The original church building was sold to a Nels Anderson and he moved the building to 946 Barry Avenue (1414 Noble -pre 1909 address) in 1898. Below is a photo of the church. The building remained a church after the move but under another name. The photo below is owned by Arlene Nybakken Chase. According to Arlene the building need to be slightly configured due to the construction of the elevated tracks next to it.

Centennial German Methodist Church

and later called...
Lakeside Japanese Christian Church of Chicago

at Sheffield and Wellington

image - Chicago: City of Neighborhoods

originally called the Centennial German Methodist Church
1923 Sanborn Fire Map (edited) highlights the 
Chicago & Evanston branch 
of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail tracks

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that internment camps were illegal in 1943 Japanese Americans had to settle west of the Mississippi River. Many settled in Chicago due to a residence restriction - must live west of the Mississippi River . This church was one of a few churches for the Japanese community in Lake View. Read more about this congregation's evolution with this link.

Gross Park Methodist Episcopal Church

The church was located a block south of 

Gross Park on Otto Street

 above 1894 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

below 1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

the area west of Paulina Street

Otto=Henderson

image - Gross Park on Henderson-Facebook

this Sanborn Fire Map indicated the location of the Northwestern Company railroad station house 

and the Gross Park Hall 

as well as 'Gross Park' on Otto Street
Episcopal Churches:

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

621 W Belmont Avenue

Built in the Township of Lake View

 photos - Art Institute of Chicago

A Thanksgiving tale in 1898

(click to enlarge)

 photo - Lake View Patch 2012

photo - Lake View Patch 2012

photo - their website

photos - their website

  
photos - Steve Clarke via Forgotten Chicago on Facebook
who donated the Russian iconic wall piece to the church

They once owned a Building on Broadway
3212 N Broadway (Evanston Avenue)
Apparently  St. Peter's held a respectable amount of property along Belmont and Broadway (once Evanston Avenue).

This new five-story brick Gothic style structure 

was to be a Hull House like settlement house but in 1910 

image below - Jeff Hamrick via LakeView Historical-Facebook

The building was reconfigured and is currently used as the

 Lake View Athletic Club

a 2012 service - per their website

2015 photo

Renovation Plans began in 2018

per a online conversation on their FB page in 2020

'We moved out of the building in 2018 to get started on the process of renovations. That was a long process of discernment, working with architects and now contractors. We're scheduling the beginning of construction now, and we will plan to reoccupy the building in 2021 (hopefully close to the middle of the year). We were also able to save quite a bit of money by moving out and holding our services on Wellington Ave. Church of Christ - in their basement while we decided how to move forward with our own building.'

The rectory was sold in 2018 to be privately developed

the floor plans

The façade remains but for the interior ...

Request for assistance in 2020

All Saints Episcopal Church

Built in the Township of Lake View
Community of Ravenswood

4550 N Hermitage Avenue

image - Chuckman Collection
also mentioned later in this post under
'The Churches Made of Wood'

Built in 1884 survived two fires & a demolition attempt. 

This church is the oldest wooden framed/beamed 

church in Chicago. 

This 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance with X marks the spot
To the right/west is the Chicago Northwestern RR 

 Read more about congregation's history and renovation.

The Renovation began 2014
(their Facebook page)

 

the original naive 
photo - The 1883 Project on Facebook

Church of Our Savior Episcopal

530 West Fullerton

Built in the City of Lake View

photo - Chicago Sojourn

2000 photo - De Paul University Digital Collection 

photo - Chicago Sojourn

 photo - Chicago Sojourn

photo - Chicago Sojourn

The congregation formed after $500 was spent converting a barn into a small church to serve Chicago’s north side Episcopalians.  When the congregation grew, a small wood-frame church was completed in 1869 at the intersection of Lincoln, Belden and Orchard.  It served as a refuge for victims of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The current site of Church of Our Savior was completed in 1888. The parish hall building was already at 530 Fullerton Parkway and had served the Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church.

Post Notes:

This post is part of a 6 part series of blog posts about 'Houses of Worship' according to faith. Most Houses of Worship have attached schools on their private property that I may or may not be highlight in any of these posts. These following posts only briefly narrate a particular institution and 'pray' I did not forget one.

The following are a complete list of posts related to 

Houses of Worship:

Worship Catholic

Worship Presbyterian

Worship Jewish

Worship Lutheran

Worship: Selective

Read the earliest accounts of the churches of old Lake View 1884 from historian Theodore Andreas that is not covered in this series of post about the 'Houses of Worship' from page 722.

Read the list of all types of churches as of 1905:

Churches of 1905 Part I

Churches of 1905 Part II

Churches of 1905 Part III

Important Note:

These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!