Old St. Patrick's, Chicago

Cool today after yesterday's rains, but last Friday just before noon it was very warm, as it has been all month. I found myself on Des Plaines Street, on the near West Side, an easy walk west from Union Station. I had a lunch to go to, but I also had the advantage of a few spare minutes.

So I visited Old St. Patrick's Church. It's been a few years since I've been able to admire its interesting Celtic Revival interior, especially the stained glass, so I ducked inside and for a few minutes was the only one there. The church dates from the 1850s, survived the Fire somehow, and was redecorated in this unusual style in the 1910s.

"Inspired by the Celtic art exhibit at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Book of Kells in Ireland, Thomas A. O’Shaughnessy designed, constructed, and personally installed the 15 beautiful stained-glass windows of Old St. Patrick’s between 1912 and 1922," says the church's web site. "The 12 side windows were inspired by the Celtic designs of Ireland's Book of Kells. The final triptych windows, done in an art nouveau style and installed in the eastern facade of the church, are the 'Faith, Hope & Charity' windows, also known as the Terrence MacSwiney Memorial Triptych."

The lighting inside was no good for photography, but I did stand across the street and capture another unusual feature of this church, the towers, in a slightly crooked image. One is supposed to represent the western church, the other the eastern church. The "western" tower is actually to the south of the "eastern" tower, geographically speaking, but never mind. They make an interesting pair.