St. Mary of Perpetual Help Church, outside view [Polish parishes and churches in Chicago]

St. Mary of Perpetual Help Church in the industrial district of Bridgeport was the first parish which was derived from Polish St. Adalbert parish. The development of the district, dating back to the 1830s was connected with the construction of the canal. Polish immigrants began to settle down in this area at the end of 1860s.
The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was built according to the design of Henry Engelbert, an architect of German origin, working mainly in New York and Detroit. It is a three-nave basilica with a transept and a chancel terminating in a semi-circle. The picturesque and monumental façade made of light-colored stone is flanked with slender stepped towers. It is decorated with characteristic arcaded friezes and panels closed with a full arch, typical of the Romanesque Revival style, in which the church was built.