NEAR SOUTH SIDE — Dying to see the breathtaking Tiffany stained glass windows at Second Presbyterian Church? You’ll have the opportunity when Open House Chicago returns this month.

This is the sixth year the 152-year-old church, 1936 S. Michigan Ave., will be participating in the event, which runs this Saturday and Sunday. Second Presbyterian joins the list of over 200 sites across more than 30 neighborhoods opening their doors for the occasion.

The church is one of the city’s rare surviving examples of a Victorian-era church interior, and has a history that stretches back to the years before the Great Chicago Fire as its congregation dates to 1842. Its current English Gothic Revival home was designed by architect James Renwick Jr. in 1874. When a fire gutted the sanctuary in 1900, award-winning Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw transformed the interior into the Arts and Crafts-style space visitors see today, filling it with an extraordinary collection of stained glass. The church received city landmark status in 1977, becoming a National Historic Landmark in 2013.

Second Presbyterian is in the process of restoring all of its Tiffany windows. It celebrated the return of the fourth restored window with a gathering of neighbors and parishioners last month. The $700,000 project is ongoing as eight additional windows await to be returned to their former glory by Venturella Studios owner Tom Venturella.

The church is one of six Near South Side sites visitors will be able to tour during Open House Chicago. Check out the full list below:

In the 180 years since its founding, several notable people have spoken in Quinn Chapel A.M.E.’s historic halls, including Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama. Credit: Maia McDonald/Block Club Chicago

• Glessner House, 1800 S. Prairie Ave.
• Quinn Chapel, 2401 S. Wabash Ave.
• Wheeler Mansion, 2020 S. Calumet Ave.
• Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation, 2120 S. Michigan Ave.
• McCormick Place Rooftop Farm, 2310 E. Cermak Rd. (Saturday only)

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