The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago is one of the largest congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), located in the

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile (sometimes locally abbreviated to the Mag Mile) is the approximately one-mile-long stretch of Michigan Avenue (Chicago), Michigan Avenue from the Chicago River to Oak Street (Chicago), Oak Street on the Near North Side ...

neighborhood of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, directly across Michigan Avenue from the John Hancock Center. Presbyterian chicago

History

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago was formed on February 12, 1871, by the merger of Westminster Presbyterian Church and North Presbyterian Church. The combined congregation dedicated a new church building on Sunday, October 8, 1871. The

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago, Illinois during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left mor ...

began later that day and destroyed the young congregation's new sanctuary. The congregation subsequently built a second building, located at the corner of Rush Street and Superior Street, which it dedicated February 1874. After nearly 40 years at that location, in 1912, the congregation built a new building on Pine Street (now North Michigan Avenue), which was then a fairly undeveloped part of the city. The congregation employed

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Ralph Adams Cram to create a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

building of dressed limestone. Cram, who also designed the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, worked on both churches simultaneously during 1912. Only Fourth Presbyterian was completed, however, and was dedicated in 1914. In contrast, St. John the Divine is still officially unfinished and is considered a work in progress. Cram designed and built the sanctuary however the parish house, cloister, manse, and garth, which lie to the south along Michigan Avenue, were designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw. The church building is the oldest structure on North Michigan Avenue, with the exception of the

Chicago Water Tower The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built to enclose the tall machinery of a po ...

, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In 1884, the congregation worked with Rush Medical College to establish the city's Presbyterian Hospital

Statistics

According to the PC (USA), in 2013 Fourth Church had 5,540 members, the second-largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States. In 2015 at Fourth Church, Quimby Pipe Organs installed a three-million-dollar instrument with five manuals, 143 ranks, and 8,343 pipes, the largest in the midwestern United States.

Pastors

Shortly before the turn of the 19th century, Rev. M. Woolsey Stryker (1885–1892), a widely quoted pundit as well as prolific hymnwriter, served as pastor but left Chicago to become President of his alma mater,

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

, in upstate New York. Reverend John Buchanan, who held the post of senior pastor for 25 years, retired as of January 31, 2012. In March 2014, Fourth Presbyterian's members voted at a congregational meeting for the Reverend Shannon Johnson Kershner to lead the church as its next pastor commencing on May 1, 2014.

References

External links

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Fourth Presbyterian Church
{{Coord, 41, 53, 55.5, N, 87, 37, 29, W, type:landmark_region:US-IL_dim:160_source:GoogleEarth, display=title 20th-century Presbyterian church buildings in the United States Churches in Chicago Gothic Revival church buildings in Illinois Howard Van Doren Shaw church buildings Presbyterian Church (USA) churches Presbyterian churches in Illinois Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Ralph Adams Cram church buildings Churches completed in 1914 Religious organizations established in 1871 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1914 establishments in Illinois