Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral and Rectory
- Architect
- Louis H. Sullivan
- Year
- 1903
- Style
- Russian Orthodox
- City
- Chicago, IL
- Collection
- adler & sullivan
Completed in 1903, Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral is one of only two churches Louis Sullivan ever designed, commissioned by a growing Orthodox community of Rusyns, Ukrainians, Russians, Serbs, and Greeks who had settled in what's now Ukrainian Village. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia donated roughly 4,000 rubles (about $2,700) toward construction, and Sullivan himself gave back part of his fee — about $1,250 — plus the ornate Healy & Millet chandelier inside.
the building
Russian provincial details. The building keeps the forms of Russian provincial church architecture, including an octagonal dome and a bell tower set at the front of the building — a departure from Sullivan's usual commercial vocabulary, built for a congregation that wanted the church to feel like the ones they'd left behind.
Tsar's donation and Sullivan's gift. Construction was partly funded by an approximately 4,000-ruble donation (about $2,700) from Tsar Nicholas II. Sullivan himself donated roughly $1,250 of his own fee along with the elaborate chandelier manufactured by Healy & Millet that still hangs inside.
the style
Sullivan designed the cathedral in a Russian Revival style, a rare commission for an architect otherwise known for Chicago's commercial towers. The octagonal dome and frontal belltower were meant to evoke the provincial Russian churches the immigrant congregation had left in Carpathian Rus', Galicia, and the Balkans.
More on Russian Orthodoxthe architect
Louis Sullivan was one of the seminal architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and this cathedral is one of only two churches he ever designed — an outlier in a career built mostly on commercial and civic commissions.
significance
Designated a Chicago Landmark (L-114) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1979. It remains one of only two Orthodox churches serving the community in Ukrainian Village.
nearby
- St. Nicholas Cathedral
- Polish National Alliance Building
- Elizabeth Peabody Public School
- Holy Innocents Church
- Holy Trinity Church
- Humboldt Park Boathouse Pavilion