Our Lady of Lourdes may have the most moving narrative of any Chicago church—quite literally. When the city of Chicago widened Ashland Avenue in 1929, a team of 50 men and horses lifted the 10,000-ton church from its foundation, moved it across the street, rotated it 90 degrees, and finally cut it in half and added a 30-foot expansion in the middle. This enormous undertaking drew national attention during the Great Depression. The parish was established in 1892 and the building was constructed (originally on the east side of Ashland Avenue) in 1916. This ornate Spanish Renaissance church was designed by prolific church architects Worthmann and Steinbach. The 1929 move and expansion was led by Joseph W. McCarthy, another notable ecclesiastical architect.
