Editing Unity Temple (section)

==Early history==
Eleven members of the Union Church—a [[liberal Protestant]] congregation in [[Oak Park, Illinois|Oak Park]], a village in the suburbs of [[Chicago]], Illinois—met on January 25, 1871, to discuss the formation of a new congregation.<ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=6 }}</ref><ref name="Oak Leaves p. 100">{{harvnb|Oak Leaves April 27, 1907|ps=.|page=100 }}</ref> E. W. Hoard hosted a meeting to raise money for a church building,<ref>{{cite book |last=Andreas |first=Alfred Theodore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V_A1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA785 |title=History of Cook County, Illinois: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time |publisher=A.T. Andreas |year=1884 |access-date=January 27, 2025 }}</ref><ref name="Sokol p. 7">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=7 }}</ref> collecting more than $5,000.<ref name="Oak Leaves p. 100" /><ref name="Sokol p. 7" /> Unity Church of Oak Park, a [[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational]] church, was formed that March.<ref name="Oak Leaves p. 100" /><ref name="Sokol p. 7" /> The congregation acquired land at the southwest corner of Wisconsin Avenue (later Pleasant Street) and Marion Street, south of the [[Union Pacific West Line|Union Pacific West]] railroad line, from Milton C. Niles.<ref name="Sokol p. 7" /> The treasurer, Edwin O. Gale, provided $5,600, or nearly half of the $13,689 cost.<ref name="Sokol pp. 7–82">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=7–8 }}</ref>{{Efn-ur|The total cost is equivalent to ${{inflation|start_year=1872|index=US-GDP|value=13689|r=-3|fmt=c}}, of which Gale provided ${{inflation|start_year=1872|index=US-GDP|value=5600|r=-3|fmt=c}}.{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} It is unknown who designed the original church, which was built in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style.<ref name="Sokol pp. 7–82" /><ref name="Siry p. 52">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=52 }}</ref> The original church was a {{convert|40|by|80|ft|adj=on}} rectangle topped by a {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=on}} spire.<ref name="Siry p. 52" /><ref name="Chicago Tribune 1872">{{Cite news |date=August 12, 1872 |title=A Suburban Sanctuary |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-a-suburban-sanctuary/164106972/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=6 }}</ref> Inside was a ground-level parish hall with an auditorium above it;<ref name="Siry p. 52" /><ref name="McCarter2 p. 10">{{harvnb|McCarter et al|1997|ps=.|page=10 }}</ref> a ''Chicago Tribune'' article from 1872 described the church as having a stone foundation and wood frame.<ref name="Chicago Tribune 1872" /> Within the auditorium was a raised pulpit and rows of seats bisected by a central aisle.<ref name="Siry p. 52" />

Work on the new church began in early 1871, and the basement was finished later that year.<ref name="Oak Leaves p. 100" /> A [[Consecrated|consecration]] ceremony was held on August 11, 1872.<ref name="Sokol pp. 7–82" /><ref name="Chicago Tribune 1872" /> In its early years, the congregation was composed of [[Universalism|Universalists]] and [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]].<ref name="Sokol p. 9" /> As such, the church went through several pastors in its first decade. In 1882, some of the congregation's Universalist members formed a sub-congregation affiliated with the [[Universalist Church of America]]; the congregation at large remained unaffiliated with any denomination.<ref name="Sokol p. 9">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=9 }}</ref><ref name="Oak Leaves p. 101">{{harvnb|Oak Leaves April 27, 1907|ps=.|page=101 }}</ref> After going through six pastors in fifteen years,<ref name="Oak Leaves p. 101" /> the church selected [[Augusta Jane Chapin]] as its pastor in 1886.<ref name="Sokol p. 9" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 2, 1886 |title=Suburban Matters |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean-suburban-matters/164112363/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=The Inter Ocean |pages=14 }}</ref> During Chapin's tenure, Anna Jones Wright, the mother of the architect [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], joined the congregation.<ref name="Siry p. 52" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=10–11 }}</ref>

Chapin left the congregation in December 1891,<ref name="Oak Leaves p. 101" /> and Rodney Johonnot became the senior pastor the next year.<ref name="Siry p. 52; Sokol p. 12">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=52}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=12 }}</ref> During Johonnot's first four years, the congregation grew to 225 members.<ref>{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=12 }}</ref> A [[church organ]] was installed in 1897.<ref name="Siry p. 52" /><ref name="Oak Leaves p. 101" /> The congregation had decided to build a new structure by March 1901, when members voted to establish a fund for the construction of a new temple.<ref name="Siry p. 59">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=59 }}</ref><ref name="Sokol pp. 13–14">{{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=13–14 }}</ref> Johonott felt that the existing building could not accommodate all of the congregation's activities.<ref name="Sokol pp. 13–14" /> The congregation hired [[H. P. Harned]] to design a new structure on the existing site, south of the railroad tracks.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 6, 1901 |title=Churches |magazine=The Construction News |page=228 |volume=12 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|128400600}} }}</ref> By then, numerous churches were being built in Oak Park,<ref name="Siry p. 59" /> and many of the newer churches were being built on [[Lake Street (Chicago)|Lake Street]], north of the tracks.<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=.|page=64 }}</ref> In December 1904, the board of trustees again asked the congregation for donations for a new temple.<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|pages=7–8}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=14–15 }}</ref> Following a meeting in May 1905,<ref>{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=70}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|pages=15–16 }}</ref> a committee was appointed to discuss plans for the new building.<ref name="Siry p. 70; Sokol p. 18">{{harvnb|Siry|1996|ps=|page=70}}; {{harvnb|Sokol|2008|ps=.|page=18 }}</ref>