Hyde Park Union Church would be designated as an official Chicago landmark under a recommendation made to City Council today by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

Designed by prominent architect James Gambles Rogers and located at 5600 S. Woodlawn Ave., the two-story, Richardsonian Romanesque-style church was completed in 1906, with an education wing added 20 years later. Featuring rusticated masonry, a steep gabled roof, rounded windows, and corner towers, the church’s growth among Baptists in the early part of the last century was partly due to the increasing popularity of the nearby University of Chicago.

The designation would protect all exterior elevations of the church, as well as the interior of the entrance vestibules and sanctuary.

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