At the western edge of Beverly is the Roman Catholic Parish of St. John Fisher. Its campus, between 102nd Street, 103rd Street, Fairfield, and Washtenaw, tells a story of neighborhood growth through its mid-twentieth-century buildings. After residential real estate development escalated in the prairies of West Beverly following World War II, St. John Fisher was founded for the neighborhood’s newly arriving Roman Catholics in 1948. Its first pastor, Rev. Joseph B. Heldmann, served a parish community whose boundaries stemmed from three surrounding Catholic parishes: St. Barnabas, St. Cajetan, and St. Christina. In the parish’s infancy, Fr. Heldmann temporarily held masses in the basement of the J. Wayne Huddleston residence at 10324 South Talman.[i] When nearby St. Cajetan constructed a new church building, St. John Fisher Parish saw an opportunity to re-use its modest, one-story, 35′ x 110′ frame church.[ii] In June 1949, the parish moved the old building down Western and re-assembled it from three sections at a new site at 10230 South Washtenaw. A congregation of 371 families worshipped for the first time in the relocated church. In 1956, the parish realized its dream of a new church to meet the needs of its growing congregation. By then, parish families numbered 1,097.[iii]
St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church, at 10231–33 South Fairfield, is a one-story brick church building whose design evolved through the years. Designed in 1955–56 by local architect John L. Bartolomeo & Associates,[iv] the original building was decidedly Contemporary in style with low-pitched roof lines, unadorned facades, severe angles, geometric elements, and large expanses of glass. For the most part, Bartolomeo’s original design, which seated approximately 850, is no longer apparent after a critical 1964 alteration. The church was initially entered near its east end, and its altar was at the west end. Bartolomeo’s design emphasized angular elements, including sweeping rooflines, a prow window, and a hexagonal, stained glass window above the altar. Excited parishioners dedicated their own first church on September 16, 1956, and the simple frame church building was razed.
In the early 1960s, a swelling population created a need for a larger, more-accommodating church. Soon, the parish’s spiritual center was decisively modified. In 1963, the parish retained original church architects John L. Bartolomeo & Associates to design an east cruciform addition to the 1955–56 church. The one-story, brick and concrete addition featured a main section with an elongated, low-pitched gable roof with clerestory windows, mostly unadorned brick facades, and small honeycomb rectangular windows in the transept. With the addition, the parish remodeled the existing rectangular sanctuary, enlarging it to a cruciform plan with an increased seating capacity of 1,400. For visual impact, the altar was relocated to the slightly taller east-end addition of the church. The architects also expanded the church slightly outward to the south, removing the original multilight windows and installing brick piers that frame each recessed window bay featuring stained glass windows. Also at the south facade, the design offered a flat-roofed canopy over the southwest corner entry and an unusual, open brick and concrete bell tower with three symbolic soaring brick piers and three bells celebrating the Holy Trinity.
Also symbolic are the modern-styled stained glass windows, designed by Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France. Each window is a reverent expression: the feeling of Mass, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Crown of Thorns, St. John the Baptist announcing the coming Messiah, Elias’ altar, Melchisedech first offering bread and wine, Abraham’s sacrifice, the story of Noah, and the Mass as it is offered to the people. The clerestory windows are devoted to the Holy Trinity and Jesus’ disciples spreading the gospel. Finally, the small, honeycomb windows in the transepts pay tribute to the life of St. John Fisher.[v]
Surprisingly, all construction took place while the church building remained in use. Parishioners celebrated the dedication of the remodeled church at a Mass on April 12, 1964, presided by Albert Cardinal Meyer and Rev. John J. Kane.[vi] Finally, in 1970, the parish installed the altar of repose and remodeled the school basement in honor of Rev. John J. Kane, St. John Fisher’s second pastor. Later, the church’s main entry was inserted into a remodeled west facade.
St. John Fisher Parish continued Chicago’s Roman Catholic tradition of creating community centers that met the religious, educational, and social needs of its members. In the 1950s and 1960s, the parish undertook a building program that created a campus of buildings. They constructed an elementary school and a gymnasium while also meeting the clergy’s needs with a rectory and a convent.
The St. John Fisher School, at 10204 South Washtenaw, was the first building specifically constructed for the parish. Built in 1949–51 at a cost of $275,000, the school was designed in the International style by architects G. A. Barry and F. D. Eddy, with Henry Brothers as contractor.[vii] The austere, two-story stone-veneered building featured a flat roof, block forms, unadorned surfaces, and ribbons of windows. Two main block forms defined the design, with entries to the building under cantilevered roofs, into a one-story block at the north end and then into the main two-story classroom block. Until the convent was constructed, the school’s sisters resided on the second floor of the building.[viii] In 1955–56, the parish expanded the elementary school with a classroom addition to the west that was designed by John L. Bartolomeo & Associates. In an Articulated Frame style, the midcentury modern school addition features a flat roof, regularly spaced window openings, geometric massing, rectilinear forms, and simple exterior grid that emphasize the structural elements or “bones” of the building. The two-story brick, concrete, and steel addition also included a library, a kindergarten, a hall, and rare bridge connectors to adjacent campus buildings. This improvement came at the time of the new church building’s construction. By the time of completion, the school had thirty-two classrooms.[ix]
When the parish desired a gymnasium in 1962–63, Heldmann Hall addition was constructed to the north of the original 1949–51 school building. Like other buildings in the parish complex, Heldmann Hall was designed by architects John L. Bartolomeo & Associates. Heldmann Hall, in the Late International style, is one of St. John Fisher Parish’s notable buildings. The severely designed, three-story building marks its functions on its exterior (hall below, two-story gymnasium above) through the use of contrasting materials. The building appears to be raised on stone clad piers at the first floor. Window walls that rest on a brick bulkhead are recessed behind these piers. The upper two stories are clad with a smooth surfaced brick exterior broken only by vertical channels of windows. To connect Heldmann Hall to the rest of the school, the north wing and entry of the original 1949–51 school building was removed and a new entry inserted.
From the early years, St. John Fisher Church provided housing for its parish clergy. The first St. John Fisher Rectory, a Colonial Revival residence at 10201 South Washtenaw, was built in 1949–50. Architect F. F. Cunningham designed the two-story brick residence while Lidberg Stone built it a cost of $22,000. [x] In 1962, a two-story brick rectory was constructed at 10234 South Washtenaw. John L. Bartolomeo & Associates designed this International style building with a flat roof and grouped windows. The new rectory, while providing a home to parish priests, was also conceived as a parish administration center. Plans called for a parish business office, three private offices, and several small meeting rooms.
Permanent residency for the Sisters of St. Joseph came when ground was broken in the summer of 1953 for the St. John Fisher Convent at 10201 South Fairfield.[xi] After temporarily residing in the school and then the first rectory, the sisters were welcomed into their new, two-story brick residence. Like the original school building, the convent was designed in the International style. Architects Barry and Kay created a simple brick design devoid of all ornament with a flat roof, grouped hopper and fixed windows, and a projecting main entry on 102nd Street with a cantilevered roof.
[i] St. John Fisher Parish. Silver Jubilee, 1948–1973, p. 14. Booklet in the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[ii] City of Chicago Ancient Building Permit No. 21300, November 29, 1948. One-story frame church, 35x110x18, Cost $35,000. The architect of record is Barry and Kay, and the contractor is F. Wolsheid.
[iii] “St. John Fisher Parish Solemn Dedication Program.” April 12, 1964. In the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[iv] St. John Fisher Parish. Silver Jubilee, 1948–1973, p. 10. Booklet in the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[v] For detailed descriptions of the stained glass windows, see “St. John Fisher Parish Solemn Dedication Program.” April 12, 1964. In the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[vi] “St. John Fisher Parish Solemn Dedication Program.” April 12, 1964. In the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[vii] City of Chicago Ancient Building Permit No. 36664. December 12, 1949. Ledger Book 60, p. 568. One, two-story brick school building, 63’x184’x36′, Cost $275,000. Final report dated 3/16/1951.
[viii] St. John Fisher Parish. Silver Jubilee, 1948–1973, p. 17. Booklet in the Collections of the Ridge Historical Society, Chicago.
[ix] Ibid., p. 20.
[x] City of Chicago Ancient Building Permit No. 27665, June 7, 1949. Ledger Book 60, p. 61. One, two-story brick rectory and attached garage, 33’6″x35’x25′ and 22’x22’x12′, Cost $22,000. Final report, January 30, 1950.
[xi] Ibid., p. 18.