OId St. Mary's (Fifth Location)

OId St. Mary's (Fifth Location)

Old St. Mary's had six locations from its founding in 1833 to the present. This is the fifth.

By the era of postwar Chicago, much of the parish of Old St. Mary's had become travelers and downtown workers. In a somewhat surprising move, the diocese sold off the historic structure of the church to the Standard Oil Company; while the church had been designated an historical landmark, it was nevertheless demolished in October 1970. The smaller chapel for the community, built at Van Buren and Wabash, now served as the main church. This church in particular began to serve residents who began moving into the Near South Side, such as the Dearborn Station development project.

(Architect Unknown)

Harry C. Koenig, ed., “Old St. Mary’s,” in Harry Koenig, ed., A History of the Parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Vol. 1 (Chicago: The Archdioceses of Chicago, 1980): 578-88.

Paul B. Jaskot

1970-2002