Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago)

	Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Fourth Presbyterian Church front facade facing Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Location	126 East Chestnut Street; Chicago, Illinois
Built	1912
Architect	Ralph Adams Cram, Howard Van Doren Shaw
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	75000648
Added to NRHP	September 5, 1975

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago is one of the largest congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), located in the Magnificent Mile neighborhood of Chicago, directly across Michigan Avenue from the John Hancock Center.

History

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago was formed on February 12, 1871, by the merger of Westminster Presbyterian Church and North Presbyterian Church.^[1] The combined congregation dedicated a new church building on Sunday, October 8, 1871. The Great Chicago Fire began later that day and destroyed the young congregation's new sanctuary.

The congregation subsequently built a second building, located at the corner of Rush Street and Superior Street, which it dedicated February 1874.^[2]

After nearly 40 years at that location, in 1912, the congregation built a new building on Pine Street (now North Michigan Avenue), which was then a fairly undeveloped part of the city. The congregation employed architect Ralph Adams Cram to create a Gothic Revival building of dressed limestone. Cram, who also designed the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, worked on both churches simultaneously during 1912. Only Fourth Presbyterian was completed, however, and was dedicated in 1914.^[2] In contrast, St. John the Divine is still officially unfinished and is considered a work in progress.

Cram designed and built the sanctuary however the parish house, cloister, manse, and garth, which lie to the south along Michigan Avenue, were designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw.^[3] The church building is the oldest structure on North Michigan Avenue, with the exception of the Chicago Water Tower, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

In 1884, the congregation worked with Rush Medical College to establish the city's Presbyterian Hospital^[4]^[5]

Statistics

According to the PC (USA), in 2013 Fourth Church had 5,540 members, the second-largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States.^[6]

In 2015 at Fourth Church, Quimby Pipe Organs installed a three-million-dollar instrument with five manuals, 143 ranks, and 8,343 pipes, the largest in the midwestern United States.^[7]

Pastors

Shortly before the turn of the 19th century, Rev. M. Woolsey Stryker (1885–1892), a widely quoted pundit as well as prolific hymnwriter, served as pastor but left Chicago to become President of his alma mater, Hamilton College, in upstate New York. Reverend John Buchanan, who held the post of senior pastor for 25 years, retired as of January 31, 2012. In March 2014, Fourth Presbyterian's members voted at a congregational meeting for the Reverend Shannon Johnson Kershner to lead the church as its next pastor commencing on May 1, 2014.^[8]^[9]

References

^ "Fourth Presbyterian Church: Governing Boards of Fourth Presbyterian Church".
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of Fourth Presbyterian Church". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
^ "Fourth Presbyterian Church". ChicagoArchitecture.Info. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
^ Moore, R. Jonathan (October 2004). Fourth Presbyterian Church. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved 2013-10-28. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ "Rush History". Rush University Medical Center. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
^ "2013 Comparative Statistics of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)" (PDF). 2014. p. 10. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
^ "Fourth Church Pipe Organ". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
^ Brachear, Manya A. (10 May 2010). "Pastor retiring from Magnificent Mile church". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
^ "Biography of Reverend Shannon Johnson Kershner". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-18.

External links

Media related to Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago at Wikimedia Commons
Fourth Presbyterian Church

41°53′55.5″N 87°37′29″W / 41.898750°N 87.62472°W / 41.898750; -87.62472

[1] "Fourth Presbyterian Church: Governing Boards of Fourth Presbyterian Church".

[web-2] "History of Fourth Presbyterian Church". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 2014-05-18.

[architecture-3] "Fourth Presbyterian Church". ChicagoArchitecture.Info. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

[encyclopedia-4] Moore, R. Jonathan (October 2004). Fourth Presbyterian Church. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved 2013-10-28. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[rush-5] "Rush History". Rush University Medical Center. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

[6] "2013 Comparative Statistics of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)" (PDF). 2014. p. 10. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

[7] "Fourth Church Pipe Organ". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

[retire-8] Brachear, Manya A. (10 May 2010). "Pastor retiring from Magnificent Mile church". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-10-28.

[9] "Biography of Reverend Shannon Johnson Kershner". Fourth Presbyterian Church. Archived from the original on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2014-05-18.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t e Chicago Landmark places of worship
National Historic Landmark / National Register of Historic Places / Chicago Landmark	Second Presbyterian Church
National Register of Historic Places / Chicago Landmark	Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral and Rectory Kenwood Evangelical Church Pilgrim Baptist Church Quinn Chapel
National Register of Historic Places	Church of the Epiphany Episcopal Church of the Atonement and Parish House Epworth United Methodist Church First Congregational Church of Austin Fourth Presbyterian Church Holy Name Cathedral Notre Dame de Chicago Old St. Patrick's Church St. Thomas the Apostle Church
Chicago Landmark	All Saints Episcopal Church Canaan Baptist Church of Christ Building Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church Eighth Church of Christ, Scientist First Baptist Congregational Church First Church of Deliverance KAM Isaiah Israel Madonna Della Strada Chapel Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church Building Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ Building Rockefeller Memorial Chapel St. Gelasius Church Building Third Unitarian Church Building Truevine Missionary Baptist Church Building

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	United States
Geographic	MusicBrainz place