Pullman Greenstone Church, 11211 South St. Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, IL

2008 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Third Place
Significance: The town of Pullman was constructed between 1880-84 under the direction of George Pullman, founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company. Designed by architect Solon S. Beman and landscape architect Nathan Barrett, the town was one of the first planned communities in the US. Beman and Barrett developed plans for the entire town built on a site adjacent to Lake Calumet, 14 miles south of Chicago. The town combined rail car-building operations, housing, and public facilities for its 12,000 inhabitants. Pullman's main function was utilitarian, but its architecture, which blended Romanesque Revival and Queen Anne styles and incorporated elegant detailing of its buildings, reflected an emphasis on aesthetic and high quality. It is not surprising that much of the original fabric of the town remains visible today...Pullman's original town plan included a church to be built in a prominent location. The Greenstone Church, named for its serpentine stone cladding, occupies a central location in town, diagonally across from Arcade Park. The church is a Richardsonian Romanesque style with Queen Anne details and id based on Henry Hobson Richardson's Brattle Square Church in Boston, with a rectangular floor plan and a 92-foot tower. Connected to the church is an elaborate parsonage designed for George Pullman's brother. Originally established as a union church for all denominations, Greenstone sat unused after Pullman's various denominations preferred to worship in their own churches. In 1907, the church was sold to the Pullman Methodist Episcopal Church. It's current owner is the Greenstone United Methodist Church. The Greenstone Church still retains its original picturesque appearance, but its cladding shows significant deterioration...
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1217
Survey number: HABS IL-322