Pilgrimage To Chicago 5: St. Mary Of The Lake

I lived in this Chicago neighborhood (Buena Park) from August '90 to February '95, only a block and a half from this church.  At the time I considered myself an agnostic and had little or no interest in attending Mass anywhere, let alone the church on my street.  I admired the architecture from the outside and found it a pleasant sight when I walked by toward my apartment, but never felt motivated enough or curious enough to enter through its doors to see if the inside did the outside its due.  So after more than 16 years I returned on Saturday to venture through its doors... and nearly wept, both at the beauty of what I saw and the fact that I missed out on it years ago...

The mural on the other side (not pictured) was used as a backdrop in a scene in the movie Flatliners, where a young Kevin Bacon's character picks on a little girl on the playground.  I saw the actor, among several movie set people scouting this location one day.  He looked different with his hair all matted down, but not unrecognizable.

The lights were off when I was allowed to tour after hours.  There is a link to a gallery of the church with lights on if you're interested.