“As a child growing up in Hyde Park, Rivka Hozinsky watched people coming and going from the [St. Stephens ] Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist a building that commanded attention among a block of historical houses and one-flats. But today, the sanctuary sits empty and crumbling. So Hozinsky asked RESET: ‘What’s the story of the long-abandoned church at East 57th Street and Blackstone Avenue?’
“Built in 1917 (some sources say 1915) for the Christian Science denomination, the church has a classical revival entry. Tall stone columns support a hefty, carved crown, and two monumental walls curve out on both sides like a pair of unfurled scrolls. Beginning in the 1960s, it housed the St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ. But since 1997, the building has sat empty, as multiple owners have struggled to redevelop the structure.
“The building has been owned by Zhendong ‘John’ Liu since 2015, who would not offer WBEZ free access inside. However, over the years other explorers have gotten in, including prominent architecture writer Lee Bey and photographer Eric Holubow.
“Bey’s pictures show a colossal dome with a glass central aperture to let the sun into the grand space it hangs over. In Holubow’s photos, taken in 2009, you can see the ravages of time: Crumbling plaster lie all over the bare floor, graffiti is on the walls and big scars mark places where ornamental pieces were torn off.
“The church, designed by Coolidge and Hodgdon, was meant to be an idealized, classically-inspired space — more like a stately Roman temple than a traditional Christian sanctuary. The design was largely inspired by Chicago architect Spencer Solon Beman, who famously planned the town (today the neighborhood) of Pullman and has been called the ‘chief theorist of Christian Science architecture.’
“Liu, the developer who bought the Hyde Park church, hopes to fill its cavernous, domed interior with condominiums. He paid $650,000 nearly six years after the previous developer-owner, Konstantinos Antoniou, lost the building in foreclosure. But his plan has stalled for years, in part because of a long-running conflict with neighbors, city officials and preservationists over what can or should be saved.
“There’s another factor that may be slowing Liu’s attempt to revitalize the church: He is also in the midst of redeveloping a different historical church, the Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist in Kenwood. Built in 1914 and also designed by Beman, the building has been vacant since 2003. Like its peer on Blackstone, the church has seen a couple of development plans fail. Liu bought the Kenwood church for $650,000 in 2014. An extensive rebuild retained the façade and some interior spaces. The 13 townhouses created first went up for sale in July 2019, with asking prices starting at $1.17 million. More than two years later, real estate and Cook County records indicate none of the units have sold. (Rodkin, WBEZ Chicago, 10/16/21)
Listen to the full story at WBEZ Chicago
Interior Photographs of St. Stephens / Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist by Eric Holubow in 2009