Mount Olive has been a Midtown presence at 31st and Chicago for more than a century and is a leader in green technology.
Our building offers a classical worship space for celebration, inspiration, and reflection, as well as flexible working spaces for administration, fellowship, and community events.
A highlight is Mount Olive’s commitment to solar and geothermal technology. Click here to read more about the parish’s approach to climate justice.
The church building was completed in 1931. Architecturally, the Gothic exterior is underwhelming, reflecting the sturdy no-nonsense sensibilities of its planners and builders. A tall steeple was envisioned but never built.
The interior is more artful and dramatic. Worshipers enter a narrow, dark narthex with a large choir/organ loft overhead. Then, quite suddenly, the space opens to a vaulted expanse with magnificent stained-glass windows.
The church is laid out in a traditional cruciform plan:
- A center aisle with rows of pews and kneelers
- Transepts with balconies on each side
- A pulpit and lectern flanking a carved wood and stone altar set against the east wall
- A sizable pipe organ commanding the west wall above the rear choir loft
- Rows of colorful windows depicting Jesus’ humanity and divinity, and portraying many figures and events of the Christian story, including the lives of the prophets and apostles and the annunciation of Jesus’ birth to the Virgin Mary
The building has been renovated several times over the years to provide accessible and comfortable spaces for a wide variety of parish needs. Among other recent additions:
- A columbarium set into the north transept
- Four icons, one representing the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and three others depicting Christ’s birth, resurrection, and ascension
