KEY ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
- Less pointed arches than Gothic style
- Simple change to brick with limestone striping
- Carved stone medallions
- Arches of Gothic and
- Arches of Moorish influence
A small group of eight individuals first organized Grace Evangelical Church in 1904 and decided to build a chapel at the southeast corner of Kimball and Wrightwood Avenues. The modest space facing Kimball was completed in 1905, but the congregation quickly outgrew it and a new building — most of which remains to this day — was completed within five years.
The Economist, a long-gone Chicago real estate and business periodical, announced in June 1909 that prolific Logan Square architect Charles F. Sorensen had prepared plans for a 60-foot by 60-foot church for the congregation. The cornerstone was laid in late 1910, and the structure was completed in the middle of 1911.
In the three short blocks that run along Wrightwood from Logan Square to Kimball there are five church buildings. The other four are:
- 2612 North Kedzie Boulevard, 1908 and 1912 Christ Norwegian Lutheran Church (now Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church or Minnekirken), designed by Charles F. Sorensen;
- 3232 West Wrightwood, 1903 Logan Square Norwegian Baptist Church (now residential);
- 3235 to 3249 West Wrightwood, 1913 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, current building from the 1980s (Spanish-speaking congregation only, English congregation moved 2018); and
- 3326 West Wrightwood, 1908 1st Immanuel Norwegian-Danish Methodist-Episcopal Church (currently Aloft Circus Arts), designed by Charles F. Sorensen.
That three churches are so close, designed roughly at the same time by the same architect, and yet so dissimilar should serve as a testament to the skill of the Danish-American Sorensen. For Grace Church, he selected the usual grey limestone accents, but used buff-colored brick for the main walls. He also did something else unusual for ecclesiastic works of the time — he chose not to include a tower or steeple.
The building is oriented to Wrightwood and thus directly faces its neighbor. Its façade is stream-lined, which for 1909 was very modern. The arches (1) are smoother when compared to the pointed Gothic arches across the street. There is only one single stained-glass window and thus it dominates the wall. The expanse is only broken up by the small entrance wing, which also extends to the west side.
If one spends time scanning the surfaces they become quite elaborate. The simple changes to the brick (2) and the limestone striping do not distract but enhance. Even the architect’s subtle addition of carved stone medallions (3) are easy to gloss over initially, only to become interesting by themselves once noticed.
From the Kimball side, you can see that the high Wrightwood frontage disguises a common pitched roof, and that the structure forms an “L” instead of a traditional “T” church layout. The selection of a few prominent windows again contrasts to its neighbor’s façade along the same street. Any remnant of the 1905 chapel is long gone.
A Sunday School Annex was added to the rear of the church in 1926, giving us the structure as it stands today. The architect of the annex wisely decided to continue the use of buff-colored brick; Sorensen had died in 1915. Instead of using limestone as accents, he used arches with Gothic (4) and Moorish (5) influences. The basement level has a small studio/lounge with a vintage fireplace, the raised first floor houses several classrooms and offices, and the top floor holds a gymnasium.
Inside the original structure, the main sanctuary dominates the space, elevated from the street with a sloping floor more typical of a theater building. This was a technique Chicago architect Dankmar Adler developed for his early church and Jewish temple designs; he found it aided acoustics and allowed ministers and rabbis to speak in normal tones instead of shouting. The simple concept was used in all of the great Adler & Sullivan theater projects.
The Grace Church altar has been modernized from its original Gothic design. In the basement, there is a full kitchen, fellowship hall, and a small stage.
Image: Grace Church sanctuary at Christmas c. 1940’s.
Church and Congregation
By 1914, Grace Church was said to be the largest Evangelical congregation in the city. It belonged to the Evangelical Association’s Chicago District. In 1946, Grace Evangelical merged with the United Brethren and became Grace Evangelical United Brethren Church which also included another Logan Square church on Mozart Street, just south of Shakespeare Avenue (today’s Humboldt Park United Methodist Church).
During Grace Church’s 100+ years of existence on the southeast corner of Kimball and Wrightwood, many of the men, women, boys, and girls who came through its doors would go on to build the neighborhood and maintain the church. They would have been positively affected by the teachings inside.
Midcentury, neighborhood demographics changed in Logan Square and Chicago. The resulting loss of congregants forced Grace to look to merge with other congregations. Most notably, it combined with the church across the street to form Grace United Methodist Church in 1968.
Beyond religious activities, Grace Church has served as a gathering place for community and civic organizations. It has hosted polling stations for elections, an operatic program and zoning meetings, as well as provided social services for locals in need.
Image: Masonry work on east wall and facing Wrightwood Avenue completed 2020.
