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Chicago’s skyscraper-studded downtown core is home to a surprising number of houses of worship, serving believers of multiple faiths and representing a wide variety of architectural styles. Join CAC docent David Utech as he highlights six of them.

Price
$8 public (includes CAC admission)
Free for CAC Members
Free with student ID
Meet
Zoom Virtual Event (details to come)

This program will be hosted on Zoom. Approximately 3 hours before the start of the program, you will receive a link directly from Zoom with details about how to access and view it.

If you do not receive your link 2 hours prior to the start of the event, please contact tickets@architecture.org. Please note, if you do not contact us at least 30 minutes

As Chicago's downtown became primarily commercial, many of the city's worship spaces moved to more residential areas. This program will tell the story of two churches that never left downtown (First United Methodist of Chicago and Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist) and one that returned later to the Loop (St. Peter’s Catholic Church). It also highlights a synagogue that was founded to serve Loop workers (Chicago Loop Synagogue), a church that serves a growing student population (DePaul University’s Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal) and one that occupies an entire skyscraper (I Am Temple).

PROGRAM SPEAKER: DAVID UTECH

David Utech

David Utech became a CAC docent “on a whim” in 2003 following his retirement from a career in school psychology. His longtime interest in architecture is a family matter. Utech is the nephew of a Bay Area architect who trained under Mies van der Rohe. He is also the grandson of both a draftsman for a Chicago cut stone company and chauffeur to the president of the American Terra Cotta Company in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He is Tour Director of two CAC walking tours—Sacred Spaces in Downtown Chicago and Merchandise Mart—and is certified to lead six additional CAC tours.

AIA/CES credit: 1 LU