The battle to save historic St. Boniface Church in Chicago's West Town neighborhood might be coming to a close. The victor — adaptive reuse.
A developer has come forward to propose the following ... SAVE the church exterior and quintessential four corner towers ... but GUT the interior and turn it into a senior living center. This website gives more details.
Shuttered since 1989, St. Boniface was designed by well-known Chicago ecclesiastical architect Henry J. Schlacks in 1902. In addition to being a wonderful architect, Schlacks was also a teacher, and was appointed the first Director of the Course in Architecture at the University of Notre Dame.
Take a look at the proposed plans.
Purist wish that this structure would be saved in tact. To them, adaptive reuse is seen as a compromise. I say "compromise away"!
St. Boniface Church | 1358 W. Chestnut Street | Chicago, IL
PHOTO: www.stbonifaceinfo.com
