Union Park Congregational Church and Carpenter Chapel
- Architect
- Gurdon P. Randall
- Year
- 1869
- City
- Chicago, IL
At 60 N. Ashland Blvd. stand two connected Gothic Revival buildings: Union Park Congregational Church, designed by architect Gurdon P. Randall and built between 1869 and 1871, and the adjoining Carpenter Chapel, designed the same year by Otis Wheelock for the Chicago Theological Seminary. The chapel takes its name from Philo Carpenter — a deacon and co-founder of both the congregation and the seminary, an early donor, an abolitionist, and Chicago's first druggist. Considered together as a unit, the two buildings are a Chicago Landmark, an Illinois Historic Landmark, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
the building
Two buildings, one campus. The Carpenter Chapel was built for the Chicago Theological Seminary, which shared its campus with the church, and was completed the same year construction began on the church next door — the two read as a single ensemble despite being built for different purposes.
Named for a founder. The chapel's name honors Philo Carpenter, a deacon of the congregation and co-founder of both it and the Chicago Theological Seminary. He was also an early donor to the church, a noted abolitionist, and Chicago's first druggist.
the style
Both buildings were designed in the Gothic Revival style — the church by Gurdon P. Randall, the chapel by Otis Wheelock — giving the paired structures a unified medieval-inspired silhouette despite having two different architects and clients.
the architect
Otis Wheelock, who designed the Carpenter Chapel, was a partner of W. W. Boyington in the firm of Boyington & Wheelock. Gurdon P. Randall, who designed the church itself, worked on it independently; construction ran from 1869 to 1871.
significance
The church and chapel are considered a unit and carry triple recognition: a Chicago Landmark, an Illinois Historic Landmark, and a National Register of Historic Places listing. The church building is occupied today by First Baptist Congregational Church.
nearby
- Union Park Hotel
- Abraham Groesbeck House
- Church of the Epiphany
- Greater Union Baptist Church
- Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
- Holy Innocents Church