The Architecture of Fourth Church

Since 1914, more than 8 million people have entered under the carved stone tympanum over the Michigan Avenue entrance to Fourth Presbyterian Church. (The congregation was founded in 1871 and occupied two earlier church buildings before moving to Michigan Avenue.)

Most of the interior and exterior of the church is “original,” looking just as it has looked for almost a century. The cornerstone was laid in 1912, and the building was dedicated in May 1914. Except for the Old Water Tower, Fourth Church is the oldest building on Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River.

The architect of Fourth Church was Ralph Adams Cram, America’s leading Gothic revival architect, best known for his work on the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Fourth Church is not a “copy” of any one building but instead combines what Mr. Cram saw as the best of English Gothic and French Gothic styles.

Prominent Midwestern architect Howard Van Doren Shaw designed the parish buildings (the Tudor-style structures surrounding the courtyard), which were built at the same time as the church and dedicated in March 1914.

PDF of architecture brochure (black and white)

View online images of Fourth Church

View a detailed explanation of the Great East Window