New Classicism in Chicago

Here's a terrific house under construction in Chicago.

The Architect is Hammond Beeby Ainge, but that is about all the information we have on it.

Good looking place. Anyone have more details?

Basilica of Dreams: St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville, Iowa

WP Kinsella based his novel "Field of Dreams" in Dyersville, Iowa, a fitting place for building a historic structure that would bring out the best in devotional interest. Kinsella wrote about a shrine to baseball, but in reality, Dyersville is the home a truly remarkable structure, the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier. I was lucky enough to get to visit SFx this weekend, and came away impressed.

Built in 1888 by German (along with Luxemborgian) immigrants, this may be the smallest town in the US with a Basilica, as it was named by Pius XII in 1956. Seating capacity is 1200 (including the choir loft). I was informed that 850 people were at mass on Saturday at 4PM vigil, which was an average crowd (for a parish holding 5 Masses). A little math, that makes 4,250 people per weekend in a town of 4,000. Give or take 10% tourists, and this is a well-uitlized parish.

Excellent architecture historical profile here

There is humorous stained glass of St. Francis Xavier and the "Indians", in Iroquois looking garb. This is a must see Church, explemplifying the best in Catholic Architecture and preservation of the sacred.

The Basilica is about 20 miles west of Dubuque, which also has it's share of fine churches, and 40 miles from Galena, which is an architectural gem.

Dyersville is a small city with an active Catholic Community, with a tremendous churchgoing population, as well as a Catholic High School (Beckman) and Grade School (SFx).

A round of applause to the Community of St. Francis Xavier!

Voting Out the Vandals: Wilmette vs. Village Trustee

Some of my neighbors are campaigning against one of the Village Trustees who mangled the Mallinckrodt Convent project here in Wilmette. I don't like to take political positions on local issues at St. Barbara's but I will make an exception against the desecration of the sacred. Here is a pretty good run down

Four candidates have filed for three openings in the April 7th election to the Wilmette Village Board. The good fortune that this election is contested emanates from the move to re-elect one of the most controversial and destructive members of the board: Lali Watt.

Remember the Mallinckrodt (debacle)? Wilmette kool-aid drinkers back in 2001 swallowed Lali Watt’s community organizing arguments and voted to pay $24 million for a 17-acre park the village didn’t need. There were the Catholic voters who were promised retention of the historical chapel at Mallinckrodt College (since demolished); the soccer parents who were promised lighted fields (never happened), and the senior citizens who were promised a thriving senior housing complex - which has been in foreclosure since last September, owes $19 million on its loans and reports half of the units unsold. And lest we forget, there were the greenies who voted to save the trees. Remember waking up one morning to the front lawn on Ridge that was a muddy wasteland cleared of ancient trees? Yes, it was Trustee Lali Watt we have to thank for the secret deal with the Mallinckrodt developers (before the election) to clear cut all those beloved trees.

I'll vote against anyone who tears up Chapels. This project was botched and in many respects unethical. Everyone associated with it should be held accountable, which for a Trustee, is via the ballot box.

Here's some of the Stained Glass salvaged for sale.

Dr. McNamara at ICKSP

Canon Matthew Talarico, Vice-Rector of the Institute of Christ the King is certainly one of the most pleasant guys in Cook County. At a recent function earlier this month he took me aside and said "there is someone you must meet" coming to the Shrine later this month for a presentation.

That someone, was none other than Dr. Denis McNamara from the Litrugical Institute at Mundelein Seminar coming to the Shrine for his brilliant presentation on architecural and the sacred Liturgy. I assured Canon Talarico that I was one of Denis biggest fans.

So today is the day, 3PM on the delightful South Side of Chicago at 6415 South Woodlawn Avenue. All are invited!

St. Thomas the Apostle

February 22, 2009
Originally uploaded by fotomattic

Very nice photo of St TtA in Hyde Park, architect was Barry Byrne.

With Larger Shot

More Photos from Holy Name

More photos from Holy Name Cathedral, from the 1949 book 100 Years: The History of the Church of the Holy Name.

Postcard from Holy Name

Here is another view of Holy Name Cathedral, this from the Curt Teich archives. I have a better scan of this somewhere, and will locate and post.

Thanks to Msgr for the link.

Holy Name Cathedral Vintage 1958

Here is a historic shot of Holy Name in 1958. I will try to find more.

Holy Name Update

I went to the Cathedral (Holy Name) yesterday. The fire was pretty much contained to one area of the roof. There were still a troop of firemen (smoking cigarettes and theorizing) who did a very fine job at not wrecking the Cathedral while putting the fire out. Fr. Matt Compton, formerly of my parish, and a Mundelein Seminarian studying with Denis McNamara was one of the heroes of the fire and has a new appreciation of St. Agatha the patron of protection against fire.

Here are a few snapshots.

Fire at Holy Name

Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago looks like a disaster. I will go take a look later today or tomorrow.

It is a sad day for the Church in Chicago.

Story Here

Bankruptcy comes to Loyola Project

Say its 2001 you were given an Old Girls school designed by Herman Gaul that the Village of Wilmette purchased for around $25 Million. Then you decided to try and turn the school into a set of high end condominiums. What are the odds you would be bankrupt now?

Given the history of these projects in Chicago, there is about a 100% chance that buying beautiful schools, then trying to turn them into residential units will make you bankrupt. Loyola Mallinckrodt is no exception, with bankruptcy, lawsuity, unhappy residents, and unpaid bills all around. The Sun-Times has it here in a detailed story.

I'll limit it to a top 5 of wretched behavior that got the project into such a fix

1) The stained glass windows were very good. Canonically, liturgical goods can not be sold. A rather questionable set of circumstances put them on the "market" for $100K, souring any thoughts of working with a property developer interested in preserving sacred objects.

2) The Village of Wilmette, in a Jacobin fury, decided that all Christian symbolism had to be removed from the building. Never mind that there are various historical preservation ordinances preventing the destruction of great architecture, the Jacobins destroy to preserve. Crosses, statues, Latin phrases...all banished from the collective memory.

3) In a fit to provide parking the developer tore out a grove of mature trees on the Ridge Ave side of the building. Part of the sales pitch in spending $25 Million to buy the property was to preserve the park like nature (albeit in a desecrated form) of the school grounds. Not only the devout, but also the nature-lovers also began getting miffed at the project.

4) The Village of Wilmette never fully represented the financial nature of the project. The building and the Chapel were provided free of charge to the developer, in exchange for a whopping $250,000 in projected fees to the village. So, for a net loss of $24.75 Million, the village got a park.

5) In a burst of Rezko-inspired corruption, various community activists in Wilmette forced the developer to assign parts of the building as "affordable" housing. Even if the developer was humming along it is hard to fathom why he should provide below market rate housing, or why a $300,000 condo is somehow affordable, for that matter.

The trouble with these projects is that there is no "next time". The stained glass and liturgical elements are spread all over the country. The finances are a disaster. The village has astronomical property tax rates and a $25 million hole for this property. You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube here.

The papers may claim this project is a victim of the "credit crisis" but to me it seems only to be a near total void of common sense and respect for the architectural heritage of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Creative Minority Report: One for the Good Guys: Artist Alexander Stoddart named Queen's Sculptor

Creative Minority Report: One for the Good Guys: Artist Alexander Stoddart named Queen's Sculptor

St. John of God Interior

Here are some photos of the interior at St. John of God (as well as the exterior). These were taken in 2006.

There are more photos here

More Trials Of St. Boniface

rose window
Originally uploaded by primeau

The Tribune highlights some of the recent distress at St. Boniface on the near northwest side.

I have been attempting to keep St. Boniface standing for 7 years now, with some major ups and downs. I'll offer 5 tonics to the Tribune story gin.

1) The $25 Million number is absurd. I could rebuild 2 of the new Shrine in LaCrosse Wiscsonsin for that price, and have quite a bit of money to spare. It does not do much to instill confidence when a spokesman conjures up ridiculous numbers to overstate the case.

2) On the other hand, there are quite a few people at high levels in the Archdiocese who want to see this structure put to good use. If the right team is put together, I am sure the structure will stand, preferrably as a Church.

3) Making condos out of the Church was a terrible idea. Dealing with some highly questionable real estate speculators on a sacred structure is no business for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

4) The Church itself is awesome. Here are some previous posts on the Church.

Awesome interior at St. Boniface

New Hope in the Trial of St. Boniface

More Trials of St. Boniface

5) The structure could be cleaned, secured, and sealed for a $100,000 or so. In this current real estate cycle, holding the Church in a reasonable condition should be considered.

I'll quote myself

"The heathens fell upon them and murdered Boniface and fifty-two companions (according to some, thirty-seven)": I suppose when you are being attacked by heathens, 15 companions can make a real difference. At St. Boniface in Chicago, we could use at least 52 companions in getting Henry J. Schlacks faded masterpiece back into shape.

William Heyer, Architect, The Classical Architecture Studio

Bill Heyer, one of the top traditional architects practicing today, has livened up his website, with plenty of images of his work and proposals. Heyer, probably best known in Chicago for his work at the Institute of Christ the King, hails from Columbus Ohio, with a Notre Dame degree and a practice in Sacred, Educational, and Residential architecture.

Here are two images of William Heyer's work on the classic (Old Main?) Building at the Josephenium Pontifical College in Columbus Ohio.

Here's Bill Heyer, Architect

Barat Woods Development in Foreclosure

No surprise here, but the developer who simonized the Chapel at Barat College is in foreclosure proceedings for defaulting on a $16 Million Loan payment. The Chapel, of course was destroyed first before the developer went broke. Priorities!

"After closing in 2005, Barat College in Lake Forest was supposed to be transformed into a $125 million development featuring a variety of homes, preserved historic structures and a service attendant for residents.

Instead, the land on Lake Forest's posh east side is just another U.S. foreclosure statistic.

On Monday, there were no-trespassing signs and fencing around the property at Westleigh and Sheridan roads, where the private school opened in 1904. Harris Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Robert G. Shaw and his Barat Woods LLC development team Oct. 16. Barat Woods is accused of not repaying a $16 million loan before the Dec. 31, 2007, termination date.

Attorney Jeffrey Close, who represents Harris, said the bank was forced to foreclose on the land because of court action two contractors are pursuing against Barat Woods in federal court."

Link on title to Daily Herald story.

Saint Michael the Archangel in Leawood, Kansas

Denis McNamara has a informative piece (lifted here from the Creative Minority Report) on St. Michael's Parish in Leawood Kansas.

St. Michaels’ new church partakes of a “high” theology of ecclesiastical architecture, meaning that the building is understood as a "sacrament."

In the broad sense of the word, a sacrament is a sign which makes an otherwise unknowable spiritual reality knowable, active and present, to the senses. The Eucharist, of course, is our supreme sacrament, but a church building is a sacramental image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the biblical term for heaven itself. So the church building is more than simply a luxurious meeting hall, but in its very art and architecture, allows worshippers to participate in the “signs and symbols of heavenly realities” as the Second Vatican Council requested in its document on the sacred liturgy called Sacrosanctum Concilium.

While the world still shows evidence of the Fall, when humanity and the rest of creation fell into disorder and chaos, the church building shows us what our heavenly future might “look like”: radiant, ordered, centered on the worship of God in Christ, restored, renewed, and populated with the harmonious interaction of angels and saints.

In theological terminology, this looking forward to the realities of heaven is called “anticipated eschatology,” the participation now in the things of the eschaton, or end times, when God has fully restored his creation through the sharing His own Divine Life. The church building is therefore oriented toward the east, the direction from which Christ will return at the end of time (Acts 1:10). As the congregation assembles, it takes an eschatological orientation; in its very arrangement, it looks to the return of Christ, signaling the completion of his mission of restoration.

In the world outside, people interact with discord and slander; in the church they speak in one voice, praising God in liturgical texts and songs. Outside, the world is filled with the smell of stench and decay; the church gives us the scent of a renewed creation in its flowers and the sweetness of rising prayer in its fragrant incense.

The dullness of concrete and asphalt gives way in the church to marble, bronze, silk and gold. The chaotic tone and secular content of movies and television are replaced in church by images of Christ, the saints, angels—with whom we all worship as a sacramental image of the Mystical Body of Christ. For this reason, the small, high windows of the new church design allow light to flood in, but prevent looking out to the fallen world. Instead, they allow the faithful to enter a sacramental image of the new heaven and earth, participating now by way of foretaste in the realities of heaven.

More Images Here

St. Thomas the Apostle

Here's quite a bit on Barry Byrne's Masterpiece, St. Thomas the Apostle in Hyde Park. Prairie (sort of) Spanish Mission (sort of) Barry Byrne (definitely). Here's a shot from James Morris and a link to St. TtA website.

http://www.stahydepark.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=3

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London Open House 9/21/08. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Perhaps the most beautiful government building in the world.