Christ Church

A visit to a wayside tavern by weary pioneers on their long trek from New York to Wisconsin lead to the development of Winnetka’s first church, Christ Church. Those pioneers, John and Susannah Garland, arrived at the Patterson tavern in 1847 and quickly fell in love with the natural beauty of the area. They decided to settle in Winnetka and purchased the tavern from Zernah Patterson.

Initially, Garland closed the tavern to travelers on Sundays, conducting services for his family and friends inside. Eventually, he built a house just south of the tavern, which was later moved across the street to its current location at 830 Sheridan Road.

In 1869, he built the Garland Church, now known as Christ Church. Originally, the church was to be a “meeting-house for any and all denominations.” In 1876, Garland gave the church and the land on which Christ Church now stands to the Episcopalians in honor of his fourth wife, Juliette.

In 1904, the original church building was given to the First Scandinavian Evangelical Church and was disassembled and moved, board-by-board, to what is now 886 Elm Street. It was sadly demolished in 1965.

That same year, William M. Hoyt donated funds to build a larger church on the same site of the original Christ Church on Sheridan Road to memorialize his daughter and her children, who had tragically died in the Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago in 1903.

The new building opened for worship in 1905 and was designed by William Otis, a well-known local architect who designed several of Winnetka’s most historic structures. He became one of Winnetka’s busiest architects, designing a number of exceptional houses and public buildings, including the Horace Mann School, the Lloyd Memorial Library, and the Greeley School.

He is also likely the architect of 888 Tower Road, which we will visit later on this tour!

Due to its Italianate design and significance in the history of Winnetka, the Christ Church building has been marked as an eligible candidate for the National Register of Historic Places.