Art You Know

  [Saint Hedwig Roman Catholic Church (1899), Adolphus Druiding, architect, 2100 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago,
August 29, 2009 /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

Chicago seems to be filled with churches. You can't walk through an old working class
neighborhood without encountering some grand, religious structure built a century ago.

  [Steeple and cornerstone Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church (1905), Herman Olszewski, architect, 1120 N. Noble
Street, Chicago, August 23, 2009 /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

There are synagogues and Christian dominations of all stripes in a variety of architectural
styles. But, Roman Catholic churches dominate in certain areas close to the city center.

  [St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church (1902), Henry J. Schlacks, architect, Chestnut and Noble Streets;
St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church (1876), 1327 N. Noble Street, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]

Ethnic divisions ran deep years ago. Even though an Irish family may live next door to
a Polish family who lived next door to Italians, whose next door neighbors were German, no one wanted to attend a church that "belonged" to another group. So, the Poles went to the Polish church, which could be a few blocks from the Italian church, which was down the street from the Irish church and so on. Of course language also played a large part in these divisions because many services were said in an immigrant group's native tongue. But, even with masses said in English, you didn't dare cross the threshold of a church  that belonged to those other people.

  [St. Hedwig's facade /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

The population of certain nationalities was so large that several churches would be located
within a few blocks of another, all catering to the same constituency. Such was the case with Saint Hedwig's, which was built in Chicago's burgeoning Polish community in 1899.

  [Cornerstone and parishioner contributor's tablet /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

At the turn of the last century Chicago had the largest Polish population in the world
outside of Warsaw, a title which the city still holds today. Immigrants were packed so tightly in such a small area 100 years ago, that nine large Polish church buildings were located within a mile of one another. St. Hedwig's served Poles who lived in a section of the Bucktown neighborhood, where we recently when we attended the not-so-Polish Bucktown Arts Fest.

  [Interior view of St. Hedwig /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

Something that most of these churches share is unparalleled craftsmanship. The Italians,
Germans, Poles, Slovaks, Russians (of the Orthodox Catholic Church), all brought their superior skills with them to their new country and proudly displayed those talents in their church buildings.

  [St. Hedwig details /Image & Artwork: designslinger]

The people who made up these generally working class communities were not wealthy
by any means, but they were more than willing to share their labor and pennies in support of their religion. Many of the original ethnic dominations have moved on to other parts of the city, or to the suburbs. But St. Hedwigs, along with a few others, still say Catholic mass in the mother tongue of the founders of these parishes, along with Spanish, Korean, Filipino and even Chinese.