Organized in 1842, Second Presbyterian Church established its current location at Michigan Avenue and Twentieth Street in 1874 and carries the distinction of both City of Chicago landmark and National Register of Historic Places recognition. The Gothic Revival building, designed by architect James Renwick, complements an exquisite Howard Van Doren Shaw sanctuary and is considered one of the finest Arts and Crafts interiors in the country. In 2022, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation awarded Friends of Historic Second Church a $200,000 grant to restore and rewire the church’s distinctive crown chandeliers designed by Shaw in 1901.
Today, Second Presbyterian Church continues to serve as an anchor in the growing, multi-cultural South Loop neighborhood, supporting its congregation and broader community through a weekly free lunch program, youth tutoring, practice and performance space for the South Loop Symphony Orchestra, and meeting space for local and city-wide programs.
Learn more about Second Presbyterian Church and its inspiring architectural and cultural history in this National Trust for Historic Preservation article featured in the summer issue of Preservation magazine.
