St. Anthony Church Mosaic - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
libbykc
N 41° 50.582 W 087° 38.489
16T E 446743 N 4632547
Beautiful mosaic depicting the vision of St. Anthony on the exterior of an out-of-use Catholic church building on the south side of Chicago.
Waymark Code: WM13BJ8
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/01/2020
Views: 0
This beautiful church was designed by Henry J. Schlacks and was established to serve German immigrants in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. The cornerstone was laid in 1913 and the church was completed in 1915.
According to the book "Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage" by George Lane, the mosaic (along with the building's stained glass windows) was "designed, executed and installed" by the firm F.X. Zettler of Munich. The mosaic depicts the vision of St. Anthony of Padua. The mosaic is large and spans across the large 3-door entryway of the building.
The mosaic appears to have a signature in the bottom right-hand corner, "Mosaik Rauecker Munchen," or Mosaic Rauecker Munich. Rauecker may be the artisan from the Zettler firm that worked on this, but it is unclear.
There is a great history of the F.X. Zettler firm on the Urban Remains Chicago blog: (
visit link)
In later years the church was known as All Saints - St. Anthony after it merged with another nearby parish.
The church closed in 2019 and was subsequently slated for demolition. It was part of a group of Catholic churches identified by the organization Preservation Chicago as the most endangered sites in Chicago. The building's future remains uncertain. (
visit link)
Come see this gorgeous mosaic while it is still around!