Queen of Angels Catholic Parish Chicago

Blast from the past: 1970s School Brochure

Here's a look at a brochure for the school from the late 70s. To see all the great stuff that the current School Communications Committee is doing, go here.

Origins of the Guild Hall

Queen of Angels Parish originally purchased the building in the early 1930s as a facility to serve community residents affected by the Depression. Chicago’s Mayor Edward J. Kelly took notice of the positive efforts, and offered to fund a refurbishment if the parishioners provided the labor free of charge.

Setting right to work, community members banded together and Guild Hall was dedicated on March 4, 1935. The name Guild hall was chosen because it reflected the Medieval era when townspeople would gather together and help those in need. At that time, the building featured a library, roller skating rink, Boy Scout room, and was the site of many musicals and shows.

In the late 1930s, the facility was renamed the 4412 Club (its address on Western Avenue), which was focused on helping community residents find employment, as well as providing entertainment, athletic and teen events to boost local morale. A resounding success, the 4412 Club helped more than 600 people find work.

Even the local media showed its support. WLS radio sponsored Barn Dances hosted by its on-air personalities, and WGN radio sent its orchestra over to entertain at fashion shows.

As the times changed, so did the facility. In 1968 it was reintroduced as a coffee house for local residents. Dubbed “The Stepping Stone”, learning and discussion was abundant in the building. For a 25 cent admission, people could enjoy stimulating conversation along with free coffee and rolls.

After a fire in 1973 left only the brick shell, the building was completely rebuilt. Reintroduced in several phases, the most recent refurbishment was in 2000. All of the rooms and facilities were upgraded and brought up to modern standards.

Queen of Angels Guild Hall now proudly stands as a contemporary venue for parish events that has the added benefit of a colorful history.

Church Renovation History

Painting one’s living room is sometimes a challenge. A space as large as a Church with so many colors, textures, and finishes is even more so. The following is a background of the most recent renovation of our Church.

A parishioner Church Renovation Committee was established. Among its members were an architect, artist, church renovation consultant, liturgical art and environment consultant, and buildings manager.

The committee agreed upon three “givens” for the project.

The first was to maintain.

• Remain faithful to the design intent of the architect, McCarthy, Smith, and Eppig, in the late 1930s: High European gothic and clean line Chicago art deco styles. This firm worked extensively with Cardinal Mundelein and produced numerous Catholic churches during the Depression era 1930s, including another church in our Deanery, St. Mary of the Lake, and St. Bernardine in Forest Park
• The focal point is the sanctuary wall crucifix from Germany with wood throughout
• The jewels of the church are the stained glass from France and the Stations of the Cross from Italy
• All standing on the greens and whites of the sanctuary Italian marble and church tile floor

The second decision was to enhance.

• Replace the kneelers
• Move from the present yellow/ mustard/ beige/ gray palette
• Accentuate the band and inner shields circling the church between the upper wall and wood paneling
• Use gold accents to pick up gold inlays from the sanctuary woodwork
• The wall behind the altar crucifix: choose a color/ technique to enhance that large wood carving
• Restore the Stations and the chandeliers

The third decision: be daring!

Seeing recently renovated churches, go beyond whites, beiges, and light blue colors now prevalent. Four design and decorating companies were invited to prepare proposals and bids to the committee.

All companies presented fine designs and renderings. Fortune Painting and Restoration Company of Lincolnwood, IL was chosen because, along with their design, they were most able to undertake the complete scope of the project—from painting, to metal restoration, kneeler work, and electrical work as needed—at the most competitive price of $174,740.

Even after Fortune Painting was chosen, design refinement continued. Design suggestions from all decorating companies were reviewed by the committee with the best ideas taken from each. These ideas were taken to a design consultant specializing in the renovation of theaters and public buildings constructed in the same era as our church and to the first prize winners of the 1999 best U.S. hotel renovation project. The committee took the best ideas from these recommendations. Finally, three teams of historical art renovation students and their professors from the Harrington Institute of Design took all recommendations and prepared three final proposals. The work now in progress is based mostly on one Harrington Institute of Design proposal with ideas taken from the other two. All these consultants worked on a pro bono basis because they were interested in the church and our work!

An explanation of color choices

The color on the large walls is salmon. It does not dominate any window color. It picks up small, light orange/ yellow veins in the wood. In daylight, it is light, cool, but not stark. In evening lights, it tones to a rich, light rose color. The gray in the stone of the windows provides illusions. It is meant to imitate the color of stone. Its shades makes the windows and walls look higher than the former brown stone color. When the sun shines through the colored glass, the gray recedes to a minor outline allowing the glass to dominate. After sunset, the gray steps forward, showing the strong outline of the window shape even in darkness.

A slightly lighter, darker cappuccino color in the window splays (walls on the sides and bottoms of the windows) frame the windows, subtly setting them apart form the larger salmon wall color. This same cappuccino color is found in the three foot band that circles the church, serving as a transition from the salmon upper walls to the lower woodwork walls and uniting the high windows to the lower walls.

The trim at the top and bottom of the band circling the church and its inner shield, and the carved rosette arch above the windows, the altar, and the organ loft were studied very carefully, The green, blue, and gold in these areas are the three primary colors in the stained glass windows, bringing these colors from the windows to the walls. The Stations of the Cross were polished. The magenta color behind the station figures is another dominant color in the stained glass windows, especially in the lower sections of the windows just above the Stations of the Cross.

The chandeliers and wall fixtures were restored. Lights on top of the four rear chandeliers were repaired, gently casting light up the chandelier pole to the ceiling and side walls.

The Guide Through Time

Take a look at the first installment of our series, "The Guide Through Time". If you have a copy of the The Guide from a year that is not represented here, please write to Dan O'Neil or call the Parish Office at (773) 539-7510.

All materials will be promptly returned. Click here to see what was advertised in The Guide in 1972.

Queen of Angels History

Queen of Angels Parish was founded July 1, 1909 when Archbishop James E. Quigley, appointed Father Francis L. Reynolds to establish a parish in the community of Ravenswood on Chicago’s north side.  Its boundaries were Lawrence Avenue on the north, Robey Street (now Damen Avenue) on the east, Irving Park Boulevard on the south, and the Chicago River on the west.  Rather than a parish for a particular ethnic group, Queen of Angels was created as a Christian community to welcome people of diverse cultures rather than as a "national parish" for one group. This created our identity as a welcoming parish. 

The Parish's first building was constructed on the northwest corner of Western and Sunnyside, and dedicated June 28, 1910.  The church was constructed to serve as a combination church-school-convent.  Due to the rapid growth of the parish, a larger church became necessary.  In 1926, property at the corner of Sunnyside and Claremont was purchased for $85,000.  Due to engineering difficulties brought on by soft soil, the church would take 14 years to complete.  The church was finished in the spring of 1940.  The Mass of Dedication was May 5, 1940.

In 1910, the church showed a total income of $10,230 and total expenditures of $11,000.  Parish records indicated that there were 402 families registered for a total of 1,206 persons.  There were 62 infant baptisms, 12 adult baptisms; 25 persons were accepted as converts; 13 children received First Holy Communion; 10 couples were married; and 18 persons were buried.  The first graduating class consisted of 30 students.  Today, the combined Parish and School budget is $1,982,629 million. There are 1,149 households with 2,793 registered parishioners.  In 2001, there were 162 infant baptisms, 5 adult baptisms, 8 persons were welcomed as converts into the Church; 66 children received First Holy Communion, 47 were confirmed, 19 couples were married, and 36 parishioners were buried.

Under the guidance of 10 pastors, Queen of Angels has continued to flourish and grow.  We still strive to be a welcoming Christian/Catholic community celebrating our love for the Lord and the Lord's people.  Though buildings are the often first things seen, the Parish is not a series of buildings. What's inside is us: an ever-changing group of dynamic, energetic and devoted parishioners with diverse backgrounds.  

In a spirit of cooperation and mutual support, Queen of Angels Parish is part of the Six Parishes of Lincoln Avenue.  From south to north they are: St. Alphonsus (Lincoln and Wellington), St. Andrew (Addison and Paulina), St. Benedict (Irving Park and Leavitt), Queen of Angels, St. Matthias (Claremont and Ainslie) and Transfiguration of our Lord (Carmen and Rockwell.)  These parishes, with Lincoln Avenue as our "mainstreet" show the living, long-time and ever-renewing presence of the Catholic Church in this community.

Queen of Angels: proud of who we are sharing Christ's gifts.  Proud of our life in the larger Catholic Church!