A 133-Year-Old Masterpiece Returns: South Loop's Second Presbyterian Church Reinstalls Its Priceless Stained-Glass Window
By Socialhood News · South Loop ·
South Loop neighbors, one of the neighborhood's most quietly magnificent landmarks just reached a milestone that has been years in the making — and this week, you can see the results with your own eyes.
Workers were on-site this week reinstalling a 133-year-old stained-glass window inside the historic Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago, located at 1936 S. Michigan Avenue in the South Loop. The moment marks a major preservation victory for the congregation and volunteers who have spent years — and significant fundraising energy — working to restore and protect one of Chicago's most architecturally and historically significant religious buildings.
The Second Presbyterian Church is no ordinary neighborhood landmark. Designed by James Renwick Jr. — the same architect behind St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City — and completed in 1874, the building is a Romanesque Revival masterpiece that has survived fires, the passage of a century and a half, and the dramatic transformation of the surrounding South Loop. Its interior is celebrated for a collection of art glass windows, several of them designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Edward Burne-Jones, that rank among the finest examples of late-19th-century ecclesiastical art anywhere in the United States. The church has held National Historic Landmark status since 1977.
The reinstallation of this particular window — at 133 years old, a survivor of an era when American stained-glass artistry was at its peak — represents the kind of painstaking, careful preservation work that rarely makes headlines but defines a neighborhood's identity over generations. Stained-glass restoration at this level involves meticulous documentation, the removal and transport of irreplaceable panels, structural repair of the surrounding stonework, and a reintegration process that demands expert craftsmanship at every step.
For South Loop residents, the significance of this moment extends well beyond the church's congregation. Second Presbyterian sits along S. Michigan Avenue's historic stretch sometimes called the "Saints' Mile" — a corridor that also includes the Glessner House and Clarke House museums just a few blocks south. Together, these institutions form a living archive of Chicago's architectural and social history that few other neighborhoods in the city can match. Keeping them intact and cared for is a community responsibility — and this week's milestone is proof that the people and organizations dedicated to that work are delivering.
The church is open for tours and welcomes visitors who want to experience its extraordinary interior. If you haven't stepped inside Second Presbyterian, this is a genuinely excellent moment to go. The reinstalled window joins a collection that stops first-time visitors in their tracks — and reminds longtime Sloop residents why this neighborhood's bones are unlike anywhere else in Chicago.
Have you ever visited Second Presbyterian, or watched the restoration work unfold over the years? Drop your memories and photos in the Socialhood community — and let's make sure our newest neighbors know this treasure is right in their backyard.
Sources:
1. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/tag/south-loop/