Old St Patrick’s Church

Chicago


A Chicago fire survivor, this 1852 church is one of the city’s oldest. Old St Pat’s is best known for its World’s Largest Block Party, a weekend bash in late June with a solid lineup of big-name rock bands on stage. The event is famed for matchmaking: more than 100 couples have met in the crowd and eventually married.

Such social programs have certainly boosted Old St Pat’s membership, which has gone from four (yes, four) in 1983 to thousands three decades later. The domed steeple signifies the Eastern Church; the spire signifies the Western Church. There's a beautifully restored Celtic-patterned interior.


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