HYDE PARK — Supporters trying to preserve the fire-ravaged Shrine of Christ the King have been holding vigils outside the church, waiting for the demolition permits to be issued and hoping for some salvation.
The church at 6401 S. Woodlawn Ave. was severely burned in an October fire. The Archdiocese of Chicago has said it can’t afford to repair the damage and needs to demolish the church as soon as possible, while supporters and parishioners are hoping for more time to find a way to save it.
“There is a vigil,” said Jack Spicer, a member of the Hyde Park Historical Society and a collection of groups and neighbors hoping to save the church.
“We have people out there most of the time to make sure we know right away” if the Archdiocese starts demolition, Spicer said.
The city was expected to issue the demolition permits in the second week of January, but departmental reviews have taken longer than expected and bought supporters time.
“We still have an active participant who would reopen the church as a community center,” said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago.
Miller said Sean Cannon of Venue One Chicago is interested in restoring the church.
Cannon did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Other developers Miller had said were interested in restoring the church have since backed away.
“It would take a lot of time to even figure that out, but it’s certainly a cool property,” said Mike Hagenson of New Era Chicago, which had initially expressed interest in the church.
Hagenson said it’s not clear that the time to figure out the cost or work necessary to restore the church is available with the archdiocese planning to pursue a quick demolition.
Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) said developers or preservationists who want time to figure out how to save the church should invest in stabilizing the exterior.
“I don’t want to see that history demolished,” Cochran said. “The important thing is the need to stabilize it — the city can’t leave it to collapse.”
He said the archdiocese was in a difficult position being asked to spend money to restore the church while announcing the closure of three more Catholic schools in early January.
Susan Burritt, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, declined to answer questions and said the archdiocese position remained the same — that it could not afford to restore the church and planned to pursue demolition as soon as the permits are issued.
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