A $1.2 million grant to restore the aged 92-foot bell tower of Pullman’s historic Greenstone United Methodist Church was unanimously approved Thursday by the Commission of Chicago Landmarks.
Made under the city’s Adopt-a-Landmark program, the grant — if approved by City Council — would cover a virtual rebuild of the 143-year-old church’s tower, reusing as much of the building’s distinctive original green Serpentine stone.
Work could begin this year and carry into 2026. The church is located at 11211 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
“Getting this grant, and restoring the bell tower will be a big shot in the arm for not only the congregation … but the community of Pullman,” said the Rev. Luther Mason, Greenstone Church’s pastor.
The vote marks the city’s second attempt in five years to fund the tower’s fix-up.
Back in 2021, the commission approved a $1 million Adopt-a-Landmark grant for the church. But the measure failed to get final approval in 2022 after Pullman Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) — who raised concerns about the small congregation’s ability to maintain the church — and 15th Ward Ald. Ray Lopez indefinitely tabled a vote on City Council approval of the cash.
The new grant approved Thursday by the landmarks commission is $200,000 more than the old one — an attempt to account for anticipated inflation-related cost increases since 2021.
Beale said he will not stand in the way of funding when the grant comes up for aldermanic approval this time.
“It’s a great day in the 9th Ward,” he said when reached after the commission’s vote. “Now we can stabilize the building and hopefully turn the building around.”
But the tower is one of many challenges Greenstone faces. Pullman neighborhood residents started a GoFundMe page in March that has raised $20,000 toward getting the currently unheated church’s gas service restored and its furnace fixed.
The building also has no air conditioning and its roof needs repair. Greenstone was built for 600 worshippers but fewer than 30 people are members now.
The Richardson Romanesque-styled church was constructed in 1882 as part of what was then railroad car magnate’s George M. Pullman’s company town. Architect Solon S. Beman designed the town, including the church.
Greenstone, though in decay, is still largely original, featuring a colorful rose window, cherry wood furnishings, and a 1,260-pipe Steere and Turner organ.
“This grant opportunity has empowered us to take bold and necessary steps to preserve the church’s exterior facade,” Mason said. “Not only restoring its beauty, but ensuring the safety and structural integrity of this sacred space, which is loved by not only the congregation, but the Pullman community and beyond.”
If Greenstone is ultimately able to turn around, the building would join a renaissance currently happening in the Far South Side neighborhood.
In the last decade, the community has become a National Historical Park, with National Park Service rangers and guides operating out of what was once the long-vacant Pullman railroad car factory and administration building at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
The neighborhood also features the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porters National Museum at 10406 S. Maryland Ave. And the state has set aside $21 million to lure developers into reactivating the shuttered Hotel Florence at 111th Street and Forrestville Avenue.