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big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
crowamonghens
()
Date: February 08, 2010 09:51PM
someone posted pics on flickr which re-started up my curiosity about this place.
there is a giant, freestanding gymnasium at 39th and archer avenue. the building has an ambiguously churchlike countenance, and the front cornices feature faux-classical sculptures of boys representing sport - one in a circa 1920's football helmet, the other holding a tennis racket. when i was small they used to hold bingo there, and my mother would take me along. i do remember a large old stage area toward the front. i've only seen a couple references to it online, one as Our Lady of Fatima, the other as "St Agnes Gym", which sounds more familiar. an old sign in the window of questionable obsolescence refers to "Our Lady of Fatima/Daniel Byrnes Social Center Bingo".
looking at historicaerials, that corner, the building, and its parking lot appear to be virtually unchanged back to 1939, so there were no other buildings or institutions attached to the property. was this gym always associated with a church or did it start as a secular institution? anyone?
there is a giant, freestanding gymnasium at 39th and archer avenue. the building has an ambiguously churchlike countenance, and the front cornices feature faux-classical sculptures of boys representing sport - one in a circa 1920's football helmet, the other holding a tennis racket. when i was small they used to hold bingo there, and my mother would take me along. i do remember a large old stage area toward the front. i've only seen a couple references to it online, one as Our Lady of Fatima, the other as "St Agnes Gym", which sounds more familiar. an old sign in the window of questionable obsolescence refers to "Our Lady of Fatima/Daniel Byrnes Social Center Bingo".
looking at historicaerials, that corner, the building, and its parking lot appear to be virtually unchanged back to 1939, so there were no other buildings or institutions attached to the property. was this gym always associated with a church or did it start as a secular institution? anyone?
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
bowler
()
Date: June 01, 2010 05:39PM
I found a Chicago Tribune article from 1931 that nails it for you. It tells of the building of a parish center at 3924 S Archer for St. Agnes. It gives an architectural drawing of the exact building so I know it is the right one. I accessed it through the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive via the Chicago Public Library website www.chipublib.org. If you are a member of the libary it is free, or you can visit any location. Search for (in quotes) "3924 Archer". If you can't find it I can email it to you. If privacy is a concern I can email it to the admins of this site and perhaps they can pass it along to you. Let me know.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2010 06:22PM by bowler.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2010 06:22PM by bowler.
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
Karen
()
Date: June 17, 2012 02:56AM
My mom played bingo there also. It was called St. Joes when my kids played their basketball games there about eight-nine years ago. They had the public and catholic leagues that played against each other. The old stage was still there and the building was deffinitely being neglected. The place was literally falling apart. Drove past it recently and the place is closed down.
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
Chipast
()
Date: June 17, 2012 05:08PM
Just another perfect example of negligent "progress".
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
Karen
()
Date: June 20, 2012 01:14AM
Exactly Chipast.
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
()
Date: February 28, 2015 01:01PM
This building is now being demolished, in case anyone wants to stop by and take some photos...
Re: big old gymnasium at 39th and archer
Posted by:
lhaptas
()
Date: April 25, 2015 02:41AM
It was the St. Agnes Social Center. St. Agnes Church was located at Pershing and Washtenaw. It consolidated with St. Joseph and St. Anne Church in 1991, and the parish became known as Our Lady of Fatima. The St. Agnes site was torn down a few years later -- the rectory still stands there. The Social Center became known as the Daniel Byrnes Center. If I'm not mistaken, it was Monsignor Byrnes who had the social center built.
