St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church, as can be seen above, started out with much more humble accommodations than its current church, which dates from 1925. St. Ambrose, who was the archbishop of Milan when it was the capital of the late Western Roman Empire, is one of the Four Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church….
Month: December 2020
Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church
Opened in 1964, the exterior of Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church is relatively simple, but it belies a beautiful interior, which you can see at Built St. Louis. The windows in the clerestory, as well as below in the nave, are simply breathtaking and are clearly the work of Emil Frei & Associates….
St. Stephen Protomartyr Roman Catholic Church
Which of these is not like the others? St. Stephen Protomartyr Roman Catholic Church is an interesting parish, tucked away on a beautiful, quiet tree-lined street in the Holly Hills neighborhood on Wilmington Avenue. St. Stephen was the first martyr of the Christian church, killed by stoning, hence his superlative ????????????? in Greek, which means…
St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church
St. Mary Magdalene represents that moment in St. Louis architecture when revival styles, such as the Gothic Revival, were giving way to Modernism, but the old had not yet completely faded away. It’s an interesting church, with straight, severe lines. The nave is more traditional, restrained Gothic, but the front façade has given way to…
St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church
Designed by A.F. and Arthur Stauder in 1958, St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Church is one of the many Modernist churches the Archdiocese constructed in the boom years after World War II. The front entrance is dominated by a huge mosaic of the saint, designed most likely by Ravenna Mosaic, which was a branch…
Former St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church
Founded in 1891 and closed in 1993, the church of St. Agnes sits on a quiet stretch of Sidney Street at the intersection of Salena. It is currently vacant and has been for a number of years. It was designed by James McNamara, and if one looks closely, we can tell that this church was…
Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get a good clean shot of Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church, which is now focused on the large Vietnamese immigrant community in St. Louis. It’s a great example of Modernist church design in the Archdiocese at its best, with beautiful stained glass windows, which…
Former St. Hedwig’s Roman Catholic Church
Update: This was in fact a Polish national parish, famous for its fall festival on Labor Day. Also, thanks to a reader’s observation, I confirmed with Sanborn maps that the school did in fact function as the church as well, which was on the second floor. The former St. Hedwig’s is set back in a…
St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, Revisited
Update: See the interior here from November of 2024. I visited and photographed St. Cecilia’s way back in April of 2011 when the sun was setting and I realized it was far past time to get some new pictures of the thriving parish which serves the Spanish speaking population of St. Louis after St. Francis…
Former Our Lady of Covadonga Roman Catholic Church, Quinn Chapel AME Church and Other Churches
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get a good picture of one of the shortest lived parishes in St. Louis, Our Lady of Covadonga Roman Catholic Church, which used this building from 1915 to 1932. It was a Spanish national church, and the story of that country’s immigration to Carondelet has not…