Discover 5 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Lemont (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery, and Lemont Methodist Episcopal Church. Also, be sure to include Lemont Central Grade School in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Lemont (Illinois).
Table of Contents
Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago
Hindu temple in Lemont, Illinois. The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago is a Hindu temple complex in Lemont, Illinois, established in 1977. The complex includes two separate temples:
- Rama Temple, which includes Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, Lord Ganesha, Sri Hanuman, Lord Venkateshwara (Balaji), Mahalakshmi, Sri Krishna, and Radha.
- Ganesha-Shiva-Durga Temple, which includes, Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Durga Devi, Lord Subrahmanya, Devi Parvathi, Nataraja, Ayappasamy and Navagraha.
In addition, there is a separate Spiritual Center, named after Swami Vivekananda. The Swami Vivekanada Spiritual Center, which houses RITU Meditation Center, serves as a venue for many spiritual activities, including meditation, yoga classes, and spiritual lectures.
Adjoining the Vivekananda Spiritual Center, on "Vivekananda Hill", a hillock in the temple campus, is a 10-foot tall bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda, modeled after his photograph taken in Chicago after his appearance at the World's Parliament of Religions in 1893. It is the first statue of Vivekananda to be installed in a public place in the United States of America.[1]
Address: 10915 Lemont Rd, 60439-8859 Lemont
St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery
Catholic church in Cook County, Illinois. St. James Catholic Church and Cemetery, also known as St. James at Sag Bridge Church is a historic church and cemetery in the Sag Bridge area of the village of Lemont, Illinois. It is situated on a high bluff at the western tip of the glacier-carved Mount Forest Island, overlooking the Calumet Sag Channel and the community of Sag Bridge.[2]
Address: 10600 Archer Ave, Lemont
Lemont Methodist Episcopal Church
Building in Lemont. Lemont Methodist Episcopal Church, also known as the Old Stone Church, is a historic church building at 306 Lemont Street in Lemont, Illinois.
It was built in 1861 and added to the National Register in 1986.[3]
Lemont Central Grade School
The Lemont Central Grade School is a former school building at 410 McCarthy Road in Lemont, Illinois. The school was built in 1869 to replace Lemont's first school, which opened in 1836 when the area was still largely rural. Locally quarried limestone was used to construct the school; at the time, limestone production was one of the city's main industries. Architect John Barnes of Joliet designed the Victorian building. As the city's population grew considerably during the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the 1890s, an annex was placed on the school in 1896 to accommodate additional students. The school operated until building safety issues forced its closure in 1974; at the time, it was the oldest continuously operating school in the state. The building has since been converted to condominiums.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1975.[4]
Lemont Downtown Historic District
The Lemont Downtown Historic District is a commercial historic district encompassing 14 city blocks in downtown Lemont, Illinois. The district has served as the village's downtown since the 1850s, when the newly opened Illinois & Michigan Canal and subsequent limestone quarrying in the area sparked a local economic boom. It expanded through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as new railroads and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal brought residents and business opportunities to the village. The commercial buildings in the district exhibit a variety of common building types seen between 1850 and 1950; one-part, two-part, gable-front, and false-front buildings are all present, and their designs feature Italianate, Commercial, and revival style architecture. The district also includes several of Lemont's government buildings, including its village hall and post office.
The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 2016.[5]