Neighborhoods: Gold Coast

I've been putting this one off for a little while, because I feel like the Gold Coast is one of those neighborhoods I'll learn more and more about as the year goes on. The Gold Coast is just north of the Loop, so it's in a very central part of town. It's also where Fourth Presbyterian Church is, so I go there three days a week.

The picture on the left was taken while standing outside the sanctuary of Fourth Church. We're hemmed in on all sides by office buildings and stores, which makes the Gothic architecture of the church a welcome break from its surroundings.

It's hard to feel like any part of the Gold Coast is residential, despite the fact that there are high-rise apartments all around. That's because the Magnificent Mile is within the neighborhood, so walking through the area just makes you feel seeped in consumerism. I've seen tiny dogs being walked near the church (and carried in Baby Bjorns), so that's some proof there are homes in the Gold Coast. There are people EVERYWHERE, but I assume most of them are tourists or people who work in the Gold Coast. It's an extremely well-to-do neighborhood, full of shops and offices and mostly just droves of people walking all over the place. I understand that I'm emphasizing the crowds a lot, but walk through the Mag Mile on a Saturday afternoon and you will understand some of the elation and terror which are brought on by having that many humans crammed onto a sidewalk. One time I went to the Gold Coast on a parade day (accidentally!) and was completely unable to move for a few minutes, as I was surrounded by chipper shoppers.

Although you see plenty of live people on the Gold Coast, there are also plenty of dolls. The American Girls store is very close to Fourth Church, so my typical walk to work involves passing a couple families with tiny girls clutching their large American Girl dolls, usually in matching outfits. It's adorable.

I've mentioned before that Fourth Church and my home church in Lincoln had the same architect, but here are some pictures that really help illustrate that. For people that haven't been to First Presbyterian Church but are still reading this blog, you're just going to have to trust me that the church buildings are scarily similar. I used to be unsettled by the similarities between Fourth Church and my home church, but I'm getting used to it.


Fourth Church still feels like a Bizarro First Church sometimes, with the same vaulted ceiling and patterned windows as home, but with a raised stone pulpit from which you could probably defend the church against Orcs. The church is about ten times the size of First Church, so sometimes the sanctuary makes me feel like Alice in Wonderland, shrunken and having to navigate in a comically oversized world. The more I worship there, though, the more it becomes a place of solace. I sneak down to the sanctuary every once in a while during the work week, to listen to the organist practice and soak in the calm.