Wilmette, Illinois - Architecture

Architecture

In addition to the Bahá'í House of Worship, Wilmette is famous for several other examples of religious architecture.

The oldest existing church building in Wilmette is the First Congregational Church (1909) designed in the Tudor Revival style. Trinity United Methodist Church (1928) is a Neo-Gothic structure and was designed and constructed by Granger & Bollenbacher of Wisconsin Lannonstone. The church features stained glass windows by Willet Studios of Philadelphia, among the top American studios during the 1920s. The church was also used as a filming location for Home Alone.

Both St. Joseph and St. Francis Xavier Church were designed by the firm of McCarthy, Smith and Eppig. St. Joseph's is Wilmette's oldest religious congregation, established in 1843. The present building (1939) is among the finest examples of Art Deco architecture on the North Shore. The interior is particularly well preserved and features Art Deco light fixtures, and stained glass windows designed and fabricated by Giannini & Hilgart of Chicago. The altar floor and sanctuary wall contain Italian and French marble inlaid with Portuguese onyx. The Stations of the Cross are pastel-hued mosaics crafted in the Vatican Studio of Mosaics in Rome. The design and materials of the Y-shaped school designed by Herman J. Gaul of Chicago and constructed in 1934, and the adjacent rectory harmonize with the church. St. Francis Xavier Church (1939) was designed in the Late Gothic Revival mode while McCarthy, Smith & Eppig were simultaneously working on St. Joseph's. The stained glass windows were made with English and German imported glass by the famed F. X. Zettler Studios of Munich, Germany and New York. St Francis Xavier School (1924), just east of the church, is a unique modern blend of Gothic architecture by Chicago architect Barry Byrne.

Wilmette has two houses built by Frank Lloyd Wright: the Frank J. Baker House (and carriage house) and the Lewis Burleigh House (also known as the JJ O'Connor House).

  • Frank Baker House

  • Gross Point Village Hall, now the Willmette Historical Society

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