Northern Landmarks
Between Lake County and downtown Chicago, the communities along the Lake Michigan shoreline have numerous attractions that faith-based groups find fascinating.
“Faith-based is a big market for us,” said Gina Speckman, executive director of Chicago’s North Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau. “In Evanston alone, we have 70 churches, and people like to take tours of some of those. They also tour things like the Sigma Alpha Epsilon temple on the grounds of Northwestern University.”
The university is one of the chief points of interest in Evanston, and the Levere Memorial Temple serves as the national headquarters of the social fraternity. The temple was built in 1929 at a cost of $400,000 and features a priceless collection of Tiffany stained-glass windows.
Another religious building on campus, the Alice Millar Chapel and Religious Center, was built in 1962. It features artistic stained-glass windows, an Aeolian-Skinner organ and a 151-foot spire.
Historic homes in Evanston pay tribute to some prominent religious and moral leaders who came from that part of the country. The Frances Willard House is the home of Frances Willard, a 19th century social reformer who was well known for her work in the temperance and women’s suffrage movements, as well as numerous other reforms. The Charles Gates Dawes House is a mansion that belonged to the 30th vice president of the United States.
“The home is the starting point of architectural tours of the neighborhood there in Evanston,” Speckman said. “Daniel Burnham, the architect of Grant Park in Chicago, lived in Evanston, and he built many of the homes in that neighborhood.”
In nearby Skokie, groups learn about the history of religious persecution at the Illinois Holocaust Museum.
“It’s the only museum of its size in the Midwest,” Speckman said. “It’s a Holocaust museum, but its main focus is to teach tolerance. They go through what happened in the Holocaust, but they also have artifacts related to atrocities to religious freedoms that happened to other groups at other times.”
Chicago’s Southland
South of the city, the suburbs and communities that make up Chicago’s Southland have their own stories to tell.
One of the most interesting can be found 15 miles south of the Chicago Loop at the Pullman State Historic Site. This site preserves a planned community built as the center of the Pullman Company’s manufacturing operation in the 19th century.
“It’s a great group tour attraction — you get to see some really interesting history with the factory building and hotel that’s on-site,” said Scott Bort, public relations manager for the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“There’s also a faith-based angle at the Greenstone Church. It’s a nondenominational church at Pullman that is open to the public. The craftsmanship and stained glass are astounding. It’s Old World craftsmanship in a beautiful historic church. It was meant to be a neighborhood church.”
Though the Pullman community is currently a state park, the National Park Service has recommended making it a National Historic Site.
Many groups that spend time in the area also enjoy a visit to the historic district in the nearby town of Frankfort.
“There are 50 unique restaurants, boutiques and antique shops,” Bort said. “They have the Pickwick Society Tearoom, which is very quaint and quiet and the opposite of everything you think of being Chicago. They offer customized tea programs for groups, from traditional high and low teas to tea tastings, where you can try several varieties of teas, as well as scones and finger foods.”
Frankfort’s Trolley Barn offers additional eclectic shopping inside a reclaimed historic building.
Youth groups staying in the area during their tours of Chicago often make time to visit Iron Oaks Environmental Learning Center, where ropes courses and adventure activities help young visitors learn about nature, their own physical abilities and the value of teamwork.
“You can jump off a platform onto a cargo net or run across platforms onto interesting bridges,” Bort said. “They have certified facilitators that go with your group. It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of great team building.”
