Art Enhances Striking Architecture of Unitarian Church in Evanston, Illinois

The Unitarian Church of Evanston, at 1330 Ridge Ave. in Evanston, Illinois, contains works of art ranging from a mural to banners to a ceramic tile wall piece made by children. The building, with concrete structural panels, two walls of glass, a wall with slit windows and a dramatic sanctuary, was completed in 1958 and designed by Paul Schweikher, a well-known mid-century modernist architect. Schweikher’s own mid-century modern home in Schaumburg, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public for tours. The church was dedicated in 1958, and the guest speaker at the dedication was Adlai Stevenson, who had served as governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953 and was a presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956.

The congregation’s earlier home was All Souls Unitarian Church at 1405 Chicago Ave., built in 1903 and demolished in 1960. It was designed by Marion Mahony, described in the source as the first licensed woman architect in Illinois. After fundraising for a new sanctuary, the congregation chose Schweikher, regarded as a progressive architect, for the new building. Sandra Robinson, the church’s executive operations director, has been devoted to protecting the architect’s vision, including its open, uncluttered space, its simple custom-designed chairs and its outdoor spaces.

The most prominent artwork is a mural by Suzanne Schweig Langsdorf (1917-2013), known as Martyl, who was well known at the time the church was built. Her abstract mural, titled From Darkness Into Light, is unusual for its vertical orientation and measures 30 feet high by 9½ feet wide. It was painted on site two years after the building’s construction and hangs at the back of the sanctuary rather than the front. The source notes that the lower part is often covered by a table or display, making the mural difficult to see in full. Robinson had the mural cleaned and restored by Barry Bauman of the Chicago Conservation Center in 2015.

Other artworks include a ceramic tile mural at the west entry, a gift of the late Rosemary Zwick, a longtime Evanston resident and church member, which features a chalice, the symbol of the Unitarian faith. Just inside and to the left of that entry is a ceramic mural titled Hunger, designed by children working with Evanston artist Bonnie Katz. Behind the altar, a series of hanging panels designed by Chicago artist Akemi Nakano Cohn screens the glare of the north window wall. Their nature theme was developed while Cohn was teaching at the Evanston Art Center, and congregants worked in her studio on the cutouts, a shared effort in which members took part alongside the artist. Cohn also designed and made six colorful banners that hang from the sanctuary roof, which the source says symbolize various aspects of Unitarianism.

Outside on the south side is an intergenerational playscape garden with a labyrinth and mosaic stepping stones. Evanston-based sculptor Indira Freitas Johnson designed the garden and supervised its installation with church families. Her circle of bronze chairs, Conversations, is a popular feature of Raymond Park. Preserving and restoring the mural, as the congregation did in 2015, keeps an earlier generation’s work available to those who come after (Psalm 78:4).

The article is the first in an occasional series on Evanston churches. Senior Minister Rev. Eileen Wiviott has noted that the church’s art enhances its unique spaces, a point the source makes in reference to the concrete structure, which it says can otherwise risk seeming chilly.

Source: Read the original report