demolition looms over turn of century henry j. schlacks-designed st. boniface church

i revisited st. boniface after spending the afternoon bouncing back and forth between the demolition of harpo studios and of a mid-19th century cottage across the street from my shop. despite the local coverage over st. boniface's fate (with recent developments suggesting demolition is imminent), it was mostly quiet onsite. to my surprise and delight, i ran into architectural critic blair kamin, who was there alone, scribbling away on his little notepad. we chatted briefly, then i moved along, photographing the exterior again, with a different set of lenses.

during the shoot, i couldn't help but notice sticker art graffiti plastered along the fence, including a "halting hand" symbol which seemed to fit the situation quite perfectly. other than kamin and myself, there were no wreckers or machines to be found, but the ominous green fence wrapped around the building was a clear indicator that death is highly likely. in fact, as i was leaving a man from the chicago streets and sanitation department arrived to post no parking signs on the lamp poles surrounding the church. the "no parking" period begins july 29th through august 27th, from 7am to 5pm, which to me represents the span of time it will take to reduce a historically important structure to rubble. as the signs were being posted and i drove away, kamin went to speak with the man, perhaps gathering additional information on an outcome i'm all too familiar with. of course i could be wrong, but i'm nevertheless prepared to set up camp there to document its death.

the noble square church was constructed in the early years of the 20th century but its history stretches much farther into the 19th century and magnifies some of the historical value embodied in the building itself.

boniface church began as a german congregation in the 1860’s and has since slowly transformed with each population of immigrants arriving to the area (the standing structure was built as the neighborhood became predominately polish). according to accounts from the period, this area-- which at the time was just narrowly within city limits-- was covered in a vast expanse of small wood frame buildings. a total of 20-25 catholic families resided there after having emigrated from germany. at first sparsely settled, the district was a veritable swamp, before dirt roads were paved, and streets raised 10-15 feet. elevation of the streets in fact caused flooding, and the growing neighborhood population exacerbated problems with the early sewage system. there, just west of the chicago river and on the outskirts of the city,  st. joseph’s church was established in 1862, a one-story frame structure that served as both a church and school---the only one in the area (at the corner of carpenter and chicago avenue). the small mission led to ever more growth in the area, and eventually it was necessary to build a new church. a committee agreed to erect one at the northeast corner of cornell and noble streets, the site of the present st. boniface church.

alongside the entire city, a new era was ushered in for the st. boniface parish by the great fire of 1871. after the disaster, the church was crucial in its charitable provisions of makeshift housing, clothing, and meals for people whose homes had been destroyed in the conflagration. further, after the fire new construction commenced all around, and those who had settled the area as refugees began to buy property. by 1891 the parish had grown to serve over 600 families. decades after the boom initiated by the fire, germans began to exit the area and successive waves of migration brought jewish and polish residents in the early 20^th century. the threatened, but still-standing church building was constructed between 1902-1904, to replace the original wooden structure.

the current church demonstrates well how chicago's neighborhoods shaped and were shaped by the flux of migration and the needs of newcomers. st. boniface's location was originally chosen to serve the established community without displacing them. it maintained a parochial school and sponsored social organizations which were crucial to german cultural life (evidenced also by the church's proximity to aurora turnverein, a separate institution which served german workers and businessmen, promoting socialist and free-thought culture). down the line, and around the time of the existing construction, the reigning pastor (father evers) was instrumental in pushing for improved conditions for the area, and for the creation of the adjacent eckert park.

the impressive romanesque brick church structure was designed by notable ecclesiologist and church architect henry schlacks, who trained in the firm of adler and sullivan. schlacks was himself born to a german family in the late 1860’s, and went on to study both at mit and in the firm of adler and sullivan. aside from this illustrious education, schlacks was deeply influenced by travels in Europe, and by renaissance and baroque motifs. he was fluent, however, in many architectural vernaculars and received commissions for churches throughout the city. as pictured, the building is a beautiful example of schlacks ability to design a utilitarian structure with lively ornamentation and character.

though there has been support from the surrounding community to repurpose the church structure, its fate remains grimly uncertain. photos from an informational website on the property depict the convents and parish school being razed long ago, and one can only hope the last remaining building does not receive this treatment.

update as of 7-27-2016:

i strongly suspect that wrecking equipment will arrive onsite by the beginning of next week and demolition will follow soon thereafter, with the building reduced to rubble by the end of august.