St. Anselm's Catholic Church, Rectory and Parish Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
St. Anselm's Catholic Church, Rectory and Parish Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
St. Anselm's Catholic Church, 2010
Location in Nebraska Show map of Nebraska Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	NE 2, Anselmo, Nebraska
Area	7.3 acres (3.0 ha)
Built	1905, 1928–1929
Built by	Leo Worth & John Brock
Architect	Lahr & Stangel
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival, Bungalow/craftsman
NRHP reference No.	08000170
Added to NRHP	March 12, 2008

St. Anselm's Catholic Church, Rectory, and Parish Hall are three important buildings in Anselmo, Nebraska. Together, they make up the St. Anselm church complex. The church, sometimes called The Cathedral of the Sandhills, was built between 1928 and 1929. The rectory, which is the priest's house, was built at the same time. The parish hall is older, built in 1905. It was actually the first church building!

These buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. They are special because of their unique building styles. These include the Late Gothic Revival style and the Bungalow/Craftsman style. The historic listing includes four buildings that help tell the story of the site. They are located on a property that is about 7.3 acres big.

The Church Building

St. Anselm's Catholic Church was built from 1928 to 1929. It was designed in the Late Gothic Revival style. This means it looks like older Gothic churches but with some modern touches. The church building is about 112.5 feet long and 47 feet wide.

M.S. Lahr and Carl Stangel from Omaha drew the plans for both the church and the rectory. Leo Worth and John Brock from Columbus built them. Many local people also helped a lot with the project. The outside of the church is covered in brick with stone details. Its strong foundation is made of concrete blocks. The roof has a pointed shape, called a gable, and is covered with asphalt shingles. Steel beams hold up the roof.

Church Tower and Entrance

A tall bell tower stands on the northeast corner of the church. It is about 95 feet high! This tower has tall, pointed stone decorations called spires. It also has fancy stone carvings called traceries. These were carved by stonecutters in Kansas, where the limestone came from.

The front of the church has a large, arched Gothic window. Below it are three doorways. The middle one has double doors, and there is a single door on each side. Above the main doorway, it says "INTROIBO AD ALTARE DEI". This means "I will go to the altar of God." Over the side doors, you can see carvings of an Alpha and an Omega. These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

Six pairs of arched windows with Gothic designs line the sides of the church. Between these windows are strong supports called buttresses. These supports have limestone caps on top.

Inside the Church

Inside the church, you can see the wooden ceiling rafters. They end in decorative brackets. Beautiful Stained glass windows are on the north and south walls. A marble altar was put in place in 1948. The church still has its original light fixtures and the original pews, which are the long wooden benches for people to sit on.

There are doors in the sanctuary, which is the main area where services are held. One door leads to a room where the priest puts on his special clothes for Mass. Another door leads to an office.

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  Belltower detail

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  Main entry

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  Cornerstone

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  Interior

The Rectory Building

Rectory from southeast

The parish rectory is the house where the priest lives. It is located west of the church. It was also built between 1928 and 1929. This building is in the Craftsman style. The rectory is about 40 feet long and 32 feet wide.

Like the church, the rectory has brick walls and a concrete block foundation. Its roof is also gabled and covered with asphalt shingles. The house has two stories and a basement. There is a small part that sticks out on the northwest corner. The rectory has an enclosed porch with arched windows. The flat roof of this porch also serves as a balcony for one of the bedrooms upstairs.

Inside the Rectory

Inside, the rectory has eight rooms with dark wooden details. A wooden Craftsman staircase leads to the second floor. The house also has a special small space for a telephone. It has wide baseboards along the bottom of the walls. There are French doors, which are doors with many glass panes. It even has a built-in butler's pantry, which is a small room for serving food.

A wooden one-car garage stands southeast of the rectory. This garage is also considered an important part of the historic listing.

The Parish Hall

Parish Hall from southeast

The parish hall is the oldest building on the property. It was built in 1905. This building was actually the first church for the parish! It is a typical wooden frame hall from the early 1900s. In 1941, it was moved to its current spot next to the new church. This building has one story and a gabled roof. Its outside is covered in wooden siding.

The main part of the building is one large room. This room used to be the church's sanctuary. It still has its original pressed tin ceiling and decorative cornice (a molding around the top of the walls). The original pews are also still there. The area that used to be the choir loft has been covered with plywood.

After the building was moved in 1941, a new door was added to the front. This door leads to the basement. The basement now has a kitchen and a fellowship area, which is a space for people to gather. An addition was built on the back of the building to add restrooms.