GoldCoast-08

Fourth Presbyterian Church | Gold Coast | Chicago

Fourth Presbyterian Church Chicago sits atop the Magnificent Mile at the gateway of the illustrious Gold Coast neighborhood. The fourth location and structure for this Gothic Revival structure by famed architect Ralph Adams Cram is considered to be his best use of English Gothic and French Gothic styles. Aside from the Water Tower, this is the oldest building north of the Chicago River, and the congregation is one of the largest of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.

The Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago was originally named the Astor Street District and emerged out of the shadows of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Potter Palmer, a major influencer of the elite and one of the wealthiest businessmen in the city, was the first to leave behind the ashes surrounding the Prairie Avenue District and create a desirable plot of land in swampland at the northern edge of the city. The wealthiest of Chicago followed suit and quickly developed the area into one of the most desirable addresses in America. The Gold Coast was the second wealthiest neighborhood in the United States behind Manhattan's Upper East Side until the 1990's. It is currently the seventh wealthiest neighborhood in the country and boasts iconic wealth symbols such as the original Playboy Mansion, The Drake Hotel, Astor Street Row Houses, gaslight street lamps, designer boutiques, and iconic homes and landscapes from some of the country's top architects.