St. Thomas Church and Convent - Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 47.754 W 087° 35.700
16T E 450566 N 4627286
Ornate terra-cotta entryway depicting Christ on the cross, three angels, and Noah during and after the flood, lead into this church designed by Barry Byrne, with help by sculptor Alfonso Iannelli.
Waymark Code: WM92AP
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/17/2010
Views: 3
From Bach & Gray "Chicago's Public Sculpture":
"In the design and decoration of the church, the first Catholic Church to be built in the US in the modern style, architect Barry Byrne and artist Alfonso Iannelli collaborated in a way that Byrne described as a dance in which the lead passed back and forth between them. Much of the exterior shows Iannelli's share, especially the molded organic forms of the terra-cotta roofline, which are highly regarded as an effective meeting of building and sky.
The entrance follows Iannelli's model, but it is more elaborate than he intended. A disagreement developed between Iannelli and the pastor of the church, and an unknown artist completed this feature."
Iannelli, a collaborator with Frank Lloyd Wright, and Byrne, a noted church architect, have numerous credits in the Chicago area, including these waymarks: (
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Learn more about the church from their website: (
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"St. Thomas the Apostle parish has been Hyde Park's Roman Catholic
community since 1869. Alfeo Faggi, an Italian sculptor, produced a bronze Pieta and a set of stunning stations of the cross for St. Thomas the Apostle."
The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.