Arts & Entertainment
In a Historic Chicago Church, the Story of the City’s First Architect Lives On Through His Family
Church of the Holy Family opened in August 1860 with an interior by architect John Mills Van Osdel. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
A kind of architectural homecoming took place at Church of the Holy Family on Roosevelt Road last week.
The great-great-grandnephew of John Mills Van Osdel — Chicago’s first architect — toured the glorious church interior designed by his relative in the mid-19th century.
Bud Hopkins is himself a retired architect. The 88-year-old native Midwesterner has lived in Texas for 60 years, and he visited the church created by his great-great-granduncle bearing a family gift — more on that in a moment.
Holy Family Church survived the Chicago Fire of 1871, which started about one mile east. The O’Leary family, in fact, were parishioners.
After it opened in August 1860, Holy Family became known as the “Ellis Island of the Midwest” for its welcoming attitude toward immigrants. It’s estimated that a third of Chicago’s Irish population can trace their roots directly to the church.
WTTW News met Bud Hopkins as he entered the historic church built by his distant uncle.
“I’m just amazed,” Hopkins said. “I mean, it’s so beautiful. I’ve seen pictures, but to actually experience it – well, it just does something to my heart.”
Hopkins’ relative, John Mills Van Osdel, opened the first architecture office in Chicago at a time when American architects still looked to Europe for inspiration.
“It’s neo-Gothic in style,” Hopkins said, looking up at the church interior with the oldest stained-glass windows in Chicago. “You can see the elements in the light and the arches and the corbels.”
“I had heard about Van Osdel when I was young,” he continued. “My grandmother was a Van Osdel. In architecture school they said ‘You know, your great-great-granduncle was John Mills Van Osdel, and you’re following in his path.’”
Church of the Holy Family opened in August 1860 with an interior by architect John Mills Van Osdel. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
Holy Family is the second oldest church in the city (after Old Saint Patrick’s) and serves Saint Ignatius College Prep and the local community.
In the 1980s, the church once described as “a European cathedral on the Illinois prairie” fell into disrepair. Demolition was considered, but the community rallied. Millions of dollars fueled more than two decades of restoration that brought it back to its 19th century splendor.
Ward Miller was part of the team that helped restore Holy Family Church.
“We’re looking at a building that’s 160-plus years old,” Miller told WTTW News. “It was in the crosshairs for potential demolition and facing an uncertain future. I was involved in the restoration effort with John Vinci and Vinci Hamp Architects and served as a project manager. It took more than 25 years, start to finish.”
A fourth generation Chicagoan, Miller is now executive director of Preservation Chicago.
“When I was a kid, I remember this building being closed for so long,” Miller said. “It’s wonderful to be part of the story to bring it back. It was once said to be the largest Catholic congregation in America.”
Jesuit priest the Rev. Arnold Damen (of Damen Avenue fame) founded the parish in 1857. He commissioned Van Osdel “to furnish plans and specifications.” Van Osdel designed the interior, and there’s evidence he worked on the exterior, too.
Another example of the architect’s work is the iron-clad Page Brothers Building adjacent to the Chicago Theatre.
“This is really a relic of Chicago’s earliest days,” said Miller. “It’s a remarkable church with a beautiful history that touches almost every Chicagoan. When you think of the vision of Father Damen to bring a massive church to Chicago’s Near West Side, and also the construction of St. Ignatius College Prep as an institution, it’s remarkable.”
John Mills Van Osdel’s relative remains in awe of the building.
Bud Hopkins, the great-great-grandnephew of John Mills Van Osdel, prays at the church designed by his relative. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
“It is one of 31 surviving buildings that he designed in Illinois,” Hopkins said. “But this is one of his most important buildings. After the Civil War, his nephew came to work for him and together under the name Van Osdel they ran the firm for 65 years and designed over 800 buildings.”
Hopkins has also written a new biography, “John Mills Van Osdel, Architect, and His Chicago.” It tells the story of his life from 1811 to 1891.
While researching the book, Hopkins recovered an old portrait of Van Osdel painted by the original architect’s niece.
“We found it in a closet in Abilene, Texas,” Hopkins recounted. “My great aunt had painted the portrait, but I did not know where it was. But I had Van Osdel’s will. I traced it down through the family because I’m an amateur genealogist. Then this man called me, a Van Osdel cousin, and said ‘We found the portrait!’”
At Holy Family, Hopkins kneeled in prayer before the altar.
Soon after, he unveiled the portrait and gifted it to the church. The painting will be featured in a gallery under construction that will link the sanctuary to Saint Ignatius.
“I’m just so happy to be here. It’s a pleasure,” he said. “Everybody’s been so nice, and we’re staying at the Palmer House, and he [Van Osdel] designed the two original Palmer houses! That’s pretty neat.”
Marc Vitali is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.
