04 Nov St. Mark Roman Catholic Church Campus Faces Demolition
The St. Mark Roman Catholic Church campus at 2516 W. Cortez Street, spanning Thomas Street and Campbell Avenue in Chicago’s Humboldt Park/West Town neighborhood, developed over several decades. Its buildings include an 1896 greystone mansion used as the parish rectory, a three-story red-brick school built in 1906, and a 1963 Midcentury Modernist church. Together, they occupy a 1.1-acre site.
Designed by architect Allan Louis Karl of the prominent Chicago firm Barry and Kay, the church features tapering concrete and steel shafts, textured and patterned walls, an aluminum finial, and vibrant gold and blue exterior tiles.
It is internationally renowned for its striking Dalle de Verre stained-glass windows, handcrafted by French master artist Gabriel Loire of Chartres using thick pieces of French cullet glass set in cement.
After the parish was consolidated and the Archdiocese of Chicago closed the church in 2022, the property was listed for sale to private developers for conversion to residential townhomes. Archdiocesan rules require former consecrated church buildings to remain sacred or be demolished, placing the 1963 church at imminent risk.
Preservation advocates and community groups are pursuing zoning restrictions and documenting the building’s components. They are also working with preservation professionals and the developer to salvage Loire’s irreplaceable windows, structural elements, and artistic fixtures or incorporate them into future reuse plans.
