St. Luke's Episcopal Church

Built by an enterprising rector with a knack for self-promotion, this grand Neo-Gothic church fittingly served as the Cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago for a number of years. Like many churches, it was built in stages. A planned tower and narthex were never constructed, so visitors step directly into the austere nave, where massive stone piers support a high paneled-oak ceiling. The altar is a 10-ton marble monolith backed by a towering stone reredos that contains figures of saints carved from drawings by famed muralist John Warner Norton. The church’s four-manual and pedal, 65-stop Skinner pipe organ is regarded as one of the finest in the U.S. Linked via the baptistery is the older and much more intimate Lady Chapel. The “battle cloister,” added to the south by architect Thomas Tallmadge after World War I, features lifelike depictions of American servicemen.

John Sutcliffe, 1909