Ways of Thinking...: Loyola University Chicago Lakeshore Campus Walking Tour

Sociology Sal’s Loyola University Chicago Lakeshore Campus Walking Tour

(Also available here.)

Use this map from Loyola:

Drive onto campus using WEST Sheridan road (in between bldgs. 26 and 27)

Follow the drive to the Campus Parking Structure (P1). Parking is only $7.

Exit the parking structure.

Father Damen statue faces south looking at Flanner Hall (25) which is across from the Main Parking structure.

Flanner Hall (25) is home of the Chemistry Dept.

It connects directly to Quinlan Life Sciences building (26) which is a newer building with some beautiful study spaces especially on the 2nd floor and includes some fantastic art:

On the third floor of the Quinlan Life Sciences Building you’ll find Biological Domains, a collection of 14 oil paintings surrounded by custom LED lighting. The installation reflects a broad array of biological topics including animal organ systems, plant development, bacteria, and evolutionary themes, among others. And there’s a good reason why the artist chose this subject matter—she also holds a PhD in genetics.
The paintings are the work of Hunter Cole, a former lecturer in Loyola’s biology department. During her time at Loyola she even created a course called Biology through Art, where students learned to create works of art in a biology lab. Her paintings were commissioned for the installation on campus in 2016.

After walking through or past Flanner (25) and Quinlan (26), note the tall Art Deco building known as Mundelein (27) across the drive where you entered campus. Look up and note the glass atrium on the 4th floor which is a beautiful study space with a balcony that overlooks campus.

Mundelein Skyscraper (27)

They don’t make buildings like this anymore! Mundelein is a beautiful 1920s Art Deco building that used to be home to the all-women’s college, Mundelein, before it merged with Loyola. At the time it was built, it was the tallest building in Rogers Park.

Note the beautiful iron work on the doors.

Inside you will see the same detail is reflected throughout the building including on the inside on elevators, doors and radiators. There are student study spaces throughout the building, but especially the lounge on the first floor and the “Palm Court” on the 4th floor. Check out the view of campus and the lake from the Palm Court:

This building has many fine arts classes and includes the Bob Newhart theater, located on the 2nd floor. An intimate thrust stage and state-of-the-art technical equipment characterize LUC’s primary Dance and Theatre performance venue.

Walk around or exit the building through the front doors facing Sheridan Road. The front of the building facing Sheridan has guardian angels, Uriel and Jophiel on it. The angels are four stories high and made of limestone. Uriel holds the book of wisdom and points to the cross in Bas-relief on the 14th floor. Jophiel, the angel who guarded the tree of knowledge, holds the planet Earth and lifts the torch of knowledge.

At the light, cross West Sheridan road walking South to St. Ignatius Plaza and (42) School of Environmental Sustainability.

(42) School of Environmental Sustainability

Loyola closed off this street and made it into an outdoor plaza surrounded by university buildings. The lobby of the School of Environmental Sustainability (42) has a koi pond that produces fertilizer rich water from the fish used to grow the plant above it. There is also a drop off space for cooking oils and a lab where Loyola turns the used oils into biofuel which powers their shuttle buses that drive students back and forth to the downtown Watertower campus.

Exit back to the Northside of Sheridan where the Mundelein statues are and walk east toward the lake. Follow the sidewalk as it bends to the south (right) and leads you to the Sullivan Center (46).

Sullivan Center (46)

This building is where you would meet for an official tour of the campus. It also has admissions offices and a number of student services such as tutoring center. If the building is open, you might stop in for more info about admissions and such.

Walk past Sullivan Center on the northside toward the lake. Notice the rain garden which helps to collect rain runoff during heavy rains. If you follow that rough looking path through the rain garden to the fence at the northeast corner of Sullivan Center, you will find my favorite spot on campus. If you peek around the corner of that spot you can see the Chicago skyline.

Piper Hall (29)

Walking just North of Sullivan is a grotto for quiet contemplation. It is a lovely and peaceful spot to relax, as is the porch of the Mansion behind it known as Piper Hall. If you follow a small path through the garden, you can walk onto the back patio and there is a stone throne that you can sit at as you contemplate the view of the grotto, the lake, or both.

Although Loyola is run Jesuit Priests, an order of priests in the Catholic Church, Loyola is very inclusive and has many students who are Christian (not Catholic), Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh, and others. The larger groups of no-Catholics have spaces in the Damen Student Center that students use to practice their religions.

Piper Hall is an example of the Mansions that used to line Sheridan road before it became a wall of high rise condos. Fortunately Piper was gifted to Loyola and remains.

Continue to walk north along the shore.

Coffey Hall (28)

Coffey Hall (28) is home to social sciences.

In between Coffey and the chapel is a beautiful space that many students use to read and relax while taking in lake views. When school is in session, this area will often have students lounging on the rocks and walls and in the grassy areas.

Walk north along the lake to the entrance to:

Madonna Della Strada

(19) Madonna Della Strada

This art deco chapel, built in 1938, boasts decoration and stain glass windows from artists including Chicago's Edgar Miller. If you stand at the entrance to the chapel in the center of the outdoor vestibule and you face the lake, whatever you say will echo throughout the vestibule because of the rounded sea wall - so be careful what you say! ☺ It is a great place to remind yourself of any affirmations that you want to hear.

The chapel is called Madonna Della Strada which translates to “Our lady of the street/road” which is odd because there is no street here, right? Well, when the chapel was being built, Chicago was constructing Lake Shore Drive which was expected to go all the way to the Evanston border. However, the last stretch was never completed and fortunately for Loyola, they continue to enjoy lakefront property!

The chapel is a lovely space for quiet meditation or prayer. Students enjoy a worship service on Sunday nights that is generally catered to the college crowd.

After walking past the entrance to the chapel, turn left and walk through the archway heading west. The arch is usually a good spot for a picture with the lake behind you and the arch framing your shot.

Continue walking west and veer to the right (or north).

This is the East Quad which is another spot that students will gather and relax, study and socialize when school is in session. Note the waterfalls which frame the entrance to the Information Commons (18).

Information Commons (18)

This gorgeous building is 4 stories of all glass overlooking the lake. Stop in and tell the desk that you are taking a tour of the campus and ask if you can just look around. They won’t mind. The third floor is an all-quiet floor. The second floor has spaces for students to work in small groups or comfy chairs for getting work done while enjoying the lake views. Automated shades track the sun throughout the day to help keep the building cool and protect birds from the glass. It is a fantastic building.

While still inside the building, you can walk to the north toward a glass hallway. Before you get to the hallway, there is usually a shelf of Loyola authors’ works. Continue walking north into the glass hallway and checkout the lovely glass café.

Beyond the café, the hall connects to Cudahy, Loyola’s original library (with books! haha ☺).

Cudahy Library (17)

Connected to the Information Commons via a glass hallway is Loyola’s original library, Cudahy. The library was built to resemble Madonna Della Strada Chapel to the South. The two buildings now bookend the modern Information Commons building in the middle. Edward A. Cudahy gifted the library to Loyola in honor of his wife, Elizabeth M. Cudahy. The main reading room is 101 feet long by 44 feet wide, 40 feet high and was designed to have a seating capacity of 200. The interior walls of the room are faced with Mankato stone while the windows are of leaded glass in soft color tones. Over the years, the reading room has had the nickname of the "Echo Chamber" because of the acoustics. Since 2010, it has acquired another nickname—the "Harry Potter Room." In 2012, the reading room was officially named the "Donovan Reading Room:"

After exiting the Information Commons building, note the top of Cudahy Library with academic disciplines written in Latin. This was featured in the opening scene of the 1990s movie Flatliners:

Walk around Cudahy to the north and east and you will approach (12) Crown Center

Crown Center (12)

Crown Center is home to humanities departments including … History! The building also has some great study spaces in it - including the first floor lobby and the lounges adjacent to the elevators on floors 2-4.

When you exit Crown, walk to Loyola Ave. Across the street is Santa Clara Hall (8), a dorm! Can you imagine living lakefront as a meager college student?! How awesome! Supposedly, this building is the closest residential building to the Lake in the city of Chicago. On the other side of Santa Clara Hall is Hartigan beach. This is a public beach managed by Chicago Park District. You might be able to see it if you go all the way to the lakefront barrier and look north. Or, you can walk around the block and go down the alley to the beach. I like pointing this out because although it is NOT a part of campus owned by Loyola, it is really cool to have a beach right there!

After you checkout the beach or if you skip it, walk west to Sheridan Rd.

At the corner of Sheridan and Loyola Avenue is this sculpture:

Passers-by on Sheridan Road may notice this Buddha head peering out just over the grass, but if you travel the city you’ll find them in many other locations. The fiberglass sculpture by Indira Freitas Johnson is part of her Ten Thousand Ripples project, which saw 100 of these sculptures installed in neighborhoods throughout Chicago, from the far South Side all the way to Rogers Park.
The Buddha heads were originally on display at the Chicago Cultural Center and were intended to provoke a sense of peace, but Johnson wondered what reaction people would have if the sculptures were installed in public spaces like storefronts, parks, and abandoned lots. That led to the creation of Ten Thousand Ripples, and Johnson began working with neighborhoods and community organizations around the city to install the sculptures in public spaces as a way to spark conversations about peace and nonviolence. Loyola’s Buddha has been looking out on Sheridan since November 2012.

Sr. Jean Plaza

Across Sheridan is Sr. Jean Plaza, which was renamed to honor Loyola’s biggest fan on her 103rd birthday.

Loyola El Stop

Next to the plaza is the Loyola El stop along the CTA’s Red line.

Loyola has its own El Stop (Loyola) which is part of the Red Line. This line will get you to Uptown (Aragon Theater, Riviera Ballroom, Greenmill), Wrigley Field (Cubs), Belmont/Halstead (LGBT Pride town), Watertower (Loyola Downtown, Shopping, Michigan Avenue), State Street (Millenium Park, The Loop, more shopping), 35th Street (White Sox). It’s a great line to be close to!

Also note all of the amenities that students have access to along Sheridan/Broadway. To the north is Mod Pizza, Canes, Chipotle, BopNGrill and to the South is Target, Insomnia Cookies, Halal Brothers, Taco Bell, and a little further is Whole Foods.

Across from the El stop, head back onto campus to the Damen Student Center (14)

Damen Student Center (14)

This space is the social center for students. There is a cafeteria for students with a meal plan as well as an ala carte café. The basement has a bar (Ireland’s) that also serves as a student hangout space when the bar is not open, as well as ping pong and pool and lounge chairs. The main floor has offices and social spaces, a theater, and Sr Jean’s office. Walk through the space heading south and you will see a rock climbing wall. That is part of the student fitness center which has cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, basketball, racquetball courts, an indoor track, yoga and more. Exit the building to the south of the Rock wall and you will be at the Entrance to the

Gentile Center

Gentile Center where Loyola plays it’s home games for basketball and volleyball. Voted the best atmosphere in the A10 conference for watching games!

Walk along the field toward the domed building called Cudahy Science Center. Dumbach and Cudahy are the two original buildings on campus. Although they are the oldest buildings on campus, in between them is something a little older:

This moon is carved from one billion year old material

Renowned British sculptor Emily Young is known for her series of lunar and solar discs, which she says are “like angels, heavenly bodies, stars, whirling in dark space, carrying information about our origins and throwing out light to us.” Her works also take on the unique characteristics of the stones they are carved from; this piece, titled Lunar Disc I, is made of one billion year old, semi-translucent onyx. It was originally given as a gift to Salisbury Cathedral in England in 2004, but made its way to Loyola in 2010.

This piece, Young says, “is synonymous in my mind with both the oneness of the universe, of our planet and all who inhabit it, and the unutterable wonder of nature and creation. When the sun shines through it, in the early morning or in the evening, a halo of golden light appears around the edge. It is not an image of man, but an image of the provenance of man.”

At the time it was built, Cudahy was the science building and was to contain an observatory on the roof to take advantage of the dark skies over lake Michigan at night. Unfortunately, at the same time that the building was being finished, so was the extension of the El to include Loyola’s El stop. This meant that everytime the El rambled by, the telescope’s calibrations would be thrown off! The observatory was never finished, but the beautiful building remains.

On the west side of Cudahy is this replica of a Chinese armillary which honors the work of a 16th-century Jesuit:

Italian-born Jesuit Matteo Ricci, S.J., arrived in China as a missionary in 1583. He was a skilled mathematician and astronomer, and during his stay Ricci attempted to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures, sharing with the Chinese people Western clocks, musical instruments, maps, and astronomical instruments. The above sculpture is an exact replica of one such astronomical instrument: an armillary, which depicts the celestial orbits at the time Ricci was in China. The original can be found in the Beijing Observatory, and this replica was cast in Beijing using a mold of the original. It found a home on the Lake Shore Campus in 2013.

Just past Cudahy Science building is a statue of St. Ignatius Loyola:

A poem by the American Jesuit priest James Hasse, S.J., once referred to St. Ignatius as “a saint at a desk” in reference to all of the writing and administrative work Ignatius did in founding and organizing the Jesuits.

Just Past St. Ignatius back toward Madonna Della Strada Chapel is this sculpture called Wounded Angel:

The Wounded Angel statue near Madonna della Strada Chapel has become an iconic symbol of Loyola’s mission and the University’s connection to the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador, who are remembered on a nearby memorial.
The inspiration for and decision to place the sculpture in a garden and use it as a memorial to the martyrs of the war in El Salvador—especially those Jesuits and their cook and her daughter—came from a discussion in November 2009, around the 20th anniversary of their slayings. We felt that a memorial to these martyrs was appropriate for our campus because these Jesuits led extraordinary lives and did some bold and courageous things in their fight for the people of that Central American country. Their willingness to support those being victimized and killed led to their own murders and the murders of their cook and housekeeper.
The statue should serve as a reminder that many innocent people were murdered because of the forces of repression and hate that dominated the political and social landscape in El Salvador during the civil war. Unfortunately, the United States contributed to the war by training young Salvadoran soldiers and officers to turn on their fellow citizens and anyone who advocated for a share in the land and other social justice matters. In all, many thousands of innocent people were caught up and senselessly tortured or killed, and some were radicalized in ways that deprived them of their innocence.