First Presbyterian Church of Chicago was founded in 1833, the same year Chicago was incorporated. The current Gothic Revival building was commissioned shortly after a merger with Woodlawn Park Presbyterian Church. The 125 foot tower, guarded at the top by the four Archangels, imparts an Art Deco sensibility. An elegant cloister encloses a garden and wall with inset stones from the church’s previous buildings and other notable churches. The dark sanctuary has heavy oak beams and is dominated by a unique reredos resembling a Gothic church tower. An intimate chapel is paneled in oak with a richly sculpted plaster ceiling and stained glass windows by Willett Studios. The multicultural congregation has been associated with social justice for many years, from the abolition of slavery to the Civil Rights movement.
