Elevating Old Saint Pat’s
Work has begun to add an elevator and a cloister to Old Saint Patrick’s Church (180 South DesPlaines Street) in the West Loop. The elevator project will give people in wheelchairs reliable access to one of the city’s most historic churches, and the cloister will make a nice gathering space.
The area between the church of the Saint Patrick’s campus of the Frances Xavier Warde School (120 South DesPlaines Street) has long been little more than a muddy/grassy strip between two buildings. Now the area will be transformed into a proper courtyard with arched doorways through a gallery between the two buildings. You can see a drawing of the finished project here.