03 Feb with demolition permit released, second german evangelical zion church quickly heads towards oblivion
the looming threat of the second german evangelical zion church’s destruction, which had been in a holding pattern for months, was handed its death sentence when the demolition permit was released and the wrecker arrived with equipment to prepare it for destruction. thankfully, i managed to document the interior and exterior on several occasions including the final day before the back wall was punched in with excavator.
about the chruch (i wrote this around the time it was threated with demolition in june of 2020):
the second german evangelical zion church, designed by chicago architect theodore duesing and completed in 1905, has been issued a demolition permit that will likely be released in the coming weeks. the chicago church was built on the northeast corner of ashland and hastings for 35,000 thousand dollars with the dimensions recorded as 60 x 114 feet.
the german evangelical congregation later relocated to chicago’s austin neighborhood in or around 1923, at which time the building was sold by wells fargo to a congregation (research ongoing) that inserted a new cornerstone dated 1925.
both the gothic style brick church and adjoining rectory are slated for demolition. the church building’s exterior is accentuated with bedford limestone ornament, along with arch top windows, name plaque, combined crenellated brick and stamped tin cornice. the art glass windows – most of which are badly damaged or missing altogether and any and all interior ornament or furnishings are destroyed from prolonged neglect and years of abandonment.
day one:
day two:
the first group of images captures the structure less than 24 hours before demolition commenced. the images taken the following day marks the beginning of the end. subsequent blog posts will contain additional images of the church’s gradual and equally painful disappearance from the city’s historic cityscape.
all images courtesy of eric j. nordstrom and the bldg. 51 archive.
a few thoughts additional thoughts:
further reading:
