First Zion

19th & Peoria (Northeast side of St.) Pilsen, Chicago, Illinois
First Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, organized in 1868. Originally built for a community of Germans, the church grew as the congregation grew, and in 1886 the building was enlarged and given a new steeple. The church remained in the hands of the First Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church until 1956, when most Germans had moved out of the neighborhood. The building was sold and used by various churches until 1979 when a fire destroyed the interior of the building and left it as a shell of brick. Then, in 1998, a powerful windstorm knocked over the western wall. The "building" is now owned by Podmajersky & Associates, a firm involved with the urban renewal of the Pilsen area. Now called "The Sanctuary", the space is used as a private garden.