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Show THE SKYSCRAPER CHURCH In 1S31, when Chicago was In its swaddling clothes, the Methodists purchased pur-chased a plot of ground In the downtown down-town section of the town and built their "first" church center upon It. By the time 1850 rolled around, the increased growth made the securing of larger quarters an absolute necessity. neces-sity. In the meantime, the business part of the city had shaped Itself around the church and the value of the church property had Increased at a tremendously rapid rate. The Methodists Meth-odists might have sold out at a handsome hand-some profit, but Instead they decided to retain their holdings and capitalized capital-ized the situation by combining religion re-ligion and business after a new fashion, producing a practical novelty. They built a building several stories high, within which was a church, and rented the ground floor and all other space not used for church purposes, for business purposes. History has again repeated Itself. The attendance of 1022 had outgrown the church of 18S0. Their plot had become the center of the city's retail business section. So again, the Methodists Meth-odists enlarged their qunrters and in duplicating their former plan on a fur larger and far more grand scale, they produced the tallest building In Chicago, Chi-cago, the most unusual church building build-ing .in America, and the highest church building in all the world. This magnificent skyscraper church Is 80 by 182 feet and 21 stories (and basement), or 200 feet high. The cor-Der cor-Der Is surmounted by an elaborate but substantial spire which "curries on" 200 feet, farther making the total height of the structure B."0 feet. An elaborate entrunce leads from the street directly Into a veritable dream of a "honae of worship," surrounded sur-rounded by shops and stores within. This secluded church Is mode'ed somewhat after the style of (he English Eng-lish churches, elegant but simple, dignified, dig-nified, and In silent accord with (he creed of the church, with a sealing cspacKy of shoot 1,300 persons and containing an organ as fine In quality and pleuslng In tone bb the experts of the organ-builder's r( couid produce. The original church Is said to hove cost $.ri80. The new structure. Its graceful spire dwnrfing nil other skyscrapers sky-scrapers In Chicago, cost nliout $5,-000,000, $5,-000,000, and the annual Income from the space rented for stores und offices Is a fabulous one. |