A reader requested some images of the interior of the former The Most Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in College Hill, which I had featured recently due to its abandonment, vandalism and copper theft. One thing I do not know for sure is the status of the stained glass windows, whose main narrative panels look like they could be by Emil Frei and Associates.
The use of a pink color for the capitals and other architectural elements set against white walls is a hallmark of the architecture of Filippo Brunelleschi and his use of pietra serena stone against white plaster in Fifteenth Century Florentine churches such as San Lorenzo or Santo Spirito, and later copied by Michelangelo and Giorgio Vasari in their commissions.
Chris,
Thank you for your photos and information, I appreciate it and can spend hours poring over your site.
Can you tell me why this area is as named College Hill?
Sure, that’s an easy answer. Back in the Nineteenth Century, St. Louis University had a “farm,” which was really more of a country villa like the wealthy had in Europe, where faculty and students could go in the summer to get away from the heat and smoke of the central city. It was located south of O’Fallon Park, on the northern of the two hills that make up the College Hill neighborhood.
Should we remove the stained glass now before the fires begin??
Good question–I don’t know if those beautiful windows are still extant or not.
The top photograph is not of Most Holy Name. It is of the younger Our Lady of Perpetual Help (sometimes listed as Succor) also in College Hill. MHN was established in 1865 and OLPH was established in 1871 which makes sense that the photo would be from 100 anniversary Mass in 1971. You can see from the windows, altar and floor that these are different buildings. The National Building Arts Center has pieces from both of these churches in storage. You can see their photo here that the altar is the same http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/wp-content/gallery/our-lady-of-perpetual-help/LadyOfPerpetualHelp_p1_neg22_14.jpg
You can also see their collection of MHN here http://web.nationalbuildingarts.org/recovery-projects/churches/most-holy-name/
Whenever I have requested materials from the Archdiocese there have always been a few photos that are incorrectly labeled.
Thanks for the head’s up! I’ve removed it and now the remaining three are all Most Holy Name.
Thank you for the information.
Where was OLPH, was it demolished by man or a tornado? I couldn’t tell from the photograph. It is so sad to see beautiful architecture and craftsmanship destroyed never to be recreated.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help was on the NW corner of Linton Ave and N 20th St. It was torn down in 1987 after a fire gutted the structure. The National Building Arts Center recovered some pieces from the building and they are in storage in Cahokia, IL. The school building, auditorium, rectory and convent are all still on the property. There are various things listed as operating out of at least one of the buildings, but it is clear the school has been empty since at least 2010. You can see some photos here: https://skaterbate.com/urbex/abandoned-paideia-academy-st-louis-missouri/
The church was designed by Louis Dufresne who also designed Holy Cross in Baden is probably the only example of his work that is still standing.
I believe there was a fire.
It’s a miracle that some members of the St. Louis Archdiocesan Archives gave you permission to upload these many decades old photographs online 🙂 Like it’s a pity that this 1916 built parish of many hodge podged architectural influences was given the same fate of systematic neglect like it’s many decades older neighbors east of Grand 🙁 Even if I don’t a very clear eye for allot of more specifically described building materials. I do have a pretty clear one when it comes to ornaments, color, and which areas have a fifty percent figuratively greater or lesser building density average
What has happened to the school. Is it still being used?
Where is the location of the school?
The Holy Name of Jesus School was located at 2125 Bissell. It today houses the Urban League Water Tower Campus. From the records I have been able to scrounge together, it seems that the school existed until 1984/5 when it combined with the Our Lady of Perpetual Help school at 2017 Linton. The gymnasium, it seems faces out onto Grand across the street from the church. This is noted in the National Register of Historic Places Application for the OLPH campus. The Land deed records show North Side Team Ministry using the building starting in 1991, followed shortly thereafter by Grace Hill Settlement House and Community Center, followed by the Urban League in 2021. As for the school, OLPH combined with Holy Name of Jesus stayed open until 1989 -1992 as OLPH. OLP was suppressed in 1992 along with Holy Name and combined into Most Holy Trinity’s territory. Most of the students at that time probably ended up in the St Engelbert Focus School which eventually became St Louis Catholic Academy when it merged with Bishop Healy in 2003.
Wow, thanks so much for the detailed answer!
Here is a video I know of showing the inside of the church. Church is in horrible shape, roof coming apart in sections. Alter was altered and a walk in baptism fountain was pu up there.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DM5-nv6RRx9/?igsh=Ym1raTc2eWticzFy