St. Mary's Catholic Church (Dayton, Ohio)

	St. Mary Roman Catholic Church
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Front and eastern side
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Location	543 Xenia Ave., Dayton, Ohio
Coordinates	39°45′11″N 84°10′5″W / 39.75306°N 84.16806°WCoordinates: 39°45′11″N 84°10′5″W / 39.75306°N 84.16806°W
Area	4 acres (1.6 ha)
Built	1906
Architect	John B. Vermont
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.	83002012
Added to NRHP	April 21, 1983

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church building in an eastern neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, United States. Constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century, it remains home to an active parish. Its grand architecture has made it an aviator's landmark, and it has been named a historic site by the federal government.

Parish history[]

Stained glass window from the church depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds

Emanuel Church, the first Catholic parish in Dayton, was formed in 1837.^[2]^: 357 Many English-speaking families left to form a separate parish in 1846, but Emanuel continued growing to the point that division was necessary by the end of the 1850s. Accordingly, land was chosen on Xenia Avenue at the Allen Street intersection in one of the city's eastern neighborhoods, and the owner donated enough property to permit the construction of a church, rectory, and school.^[2]^: 358 Archbishop Purcell of Cincinnati laid the cornerstone in April 1859, and the finished building was consecrated by Purcell and Henry Damian Juncker, the Bishop of Alton, in August of the following year. The building measured 110 by 50 feet (34 m × 15 m), but by the opening years of the twentieth century, the parish had outgrown it, and construction began on a new building; Archbishop Moeller laid the cornerstone in July 1905 and consecrated it in November 1906.^[2]^: 359 Growth continued, and St. Anthony's Church was established in 1913 by families coming out of St. Mary's.^[3]

St. Mary's remains an active part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to the present day. Masses are celebrated both in English and in Spanish.^[4]

Architecture[]

Interior

The current St. Mary's Church is a Romanesque Revival structure built in a mix of brick and stone. Constructed according to a design by John B. Vermont,^[5] the design features two massive clock towers on the three-bay facade. Three large doorways piece the facade at the top of a staircase, with occasional large windows and numerous pairs of narrower windows on higher levels. Each window is topped with a dormered dome above the clock.^[6] Built at a cost of $125,000 (or $3240741 in 2013 dollars),^[2]^: 359 the church is a landmark because of the twin towers; during World War II, Army aviators used it as a waypoint when navigating to the runways at Wright Field.^[6]

Preservation[]

In April 1983, St. Mary's Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1] Although as a religious property it would not normally be considered eligible for designation,^[7] it nevertheless qualified because of its distinctive historic architecture. It is one of five Dayton churches on the Register, along with Sacred Heart, St. Adalbert's, and Holy Cross Catholic Churches and First Lutheran Church.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Drury, A.W. History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio. Vol. 1. Chicago and Dayton: Clarke, 1900.
^ Lamott, John H. History of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: 1821-1921. New York and Cincinnati: Pustet, 1921, 161.
^ St. Mary - Dayton, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 2013. Accessed 2013-11-11.
^ St Mary Roman Catholic Church, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-11-11.
^ ^a ^b Dalton, Curt. Dayton. Charleston: Arcadia, 2006, 51.
^ National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Park Service. Accessed 2013-11-10.

External links[]

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[drury-2] Drury, A.W. History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio. Vol. 1. Chicago and Dayton: Clarke, 1900.

[3] Lamott, John H. History of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati: 1821-1921. New York and Cincinnati: Pustet, 1921, 161.

[4] St. Mary - Dayton, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 2013. Accessed 2013-11-11.

[5] St Mary Roman Catholic Church, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-11-11.

[arcadia-6] Dalton, Curt. Dayton. Charleston: Arcadia, 2006, 51.

[7] National Register Criteria for Evaluation, National Park Service. Accessed 2013-11-10.

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v t Churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains
Parishes	Cincinnati: Church of the Annunciation Immaculata Church Old St. Mary's Church St. Aloysius on the Ohio St. Francis De Sales Church Saint Francis Seraph Church St. Francis Xavier Church St. Lawrence Church St. Pius X Church St. Rose Church Dayton: Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Church St. Adalbert Church St. Mary's Church Springfield: St. Joseph's Church St. Raphael's Church Other: Immaculate Conception Church, Botkins St. Aloysius Church, Carthagena Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Cassella Immaculate Conception Church, Celina Precious Blood Church, Chickasaw Our Lady of Victory Church, Delhi Township St. Joseph's Church, Egypt Holy Family Church, Frenchtown St. John's Church, Fryburg St. Patrick's Church, Glynwood St. John the Baptist Church, Maria Stein Sacred Heart Church, McCartyville St. Michael's Church, Mechanicsburg St. Augustine's Church, Minster St. Louis Church, North Star St. Nicholas Church, Osgood St. Anthony's Church, Padua St. Remy's Church, Russia St. Henry's Church, St. Henry Holy Rosary Church, St. Marys St. Rose's Church, St. Rose St. Sebastian's Church, Sebastian St. Joseph's Church, Wapakoneta
Former parishes	All Saints Church, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Church, Cincinnati St. Augustine Church, Cincinnati St. George's Church, Cincinnati St. Michael the Archangel Church, Cincinnati St. Paul Church, Cincinnati St. Philomena's Church, Cincinnati St. Patrick's Church, St. Patrick
Shrine	Shrine of the Holy Relics

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