St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Racine, Wisconsin) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
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| Location | 1100 Erie St. Racine, Wisconsin |
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| Architect | Barry Byrne |
| Architectural style | eclectic |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000106 |
| Added to NRHP | July 5, 1979 |
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a special place of worship in Racine, Wisconsin. It is part of the Roman Catholic Church. The church building is very old and important. It was built in 1925 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This means it is a historic site because of its unique design.
Before the current church was built, the people of St. Patrick's met in an older building. That building was designed in the Greek Revival style. In 1923, the church asked a famous architect named Barry Byrne to design a new building. Barry Byrne had even worked with the very well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Byrne was good at designing churches and schools. St. Patrick's was only his second church design.
Contents
What Does the Church Look Like?
Outside the Church
The St. Patrick's Church building, finished in 1924, has a shape that is almost square. Its corners are cut off with short, slanted walls. From these walls, tall, pointed towers called spires reach up to the sky. The church walls are made of special wire-cut bricks. They have many tall, narrow windows called lancet windows.
The main entrance has three doors side by side. Above the doors are decorations made of terracotta and small spires. Three windows are placed above these decorations. The architect, Barry Byrne, mixed different styles in his design. He used parts of Neogothic style, like the tall, vertical lines and lancet windows. He also added elements of Art Deco with its smooth wall spaces. The overall feel is modern, possibly influenced by the Prairie School style.
Inside the Church
When you enter the church, you first step into a wooden area called a narthex. This area supports a balcony where the organ is located. The church has beautiful stained-glass windows. These windows show pictures of important figures like Old Testament prophets, the evangelists, and St. Patrick himself.
You can also see panels with bas-relief sculptures. These are carvings that stick out from the wall. They show the Stations of the Cross, which tell the story of Jesus, and figures of Mary and Joseph. A designer named Alphonzo Ianelli created many of these inside decorations. He also worked with Frank Lloyd Wright.
The design of St. Patrick's Church was very new and exciting for its time. Barry Byrne's plans for the church were shown at an art academy in Berlin, Germany. They were so impressive that they influenced other architects. Byrne even used a similar design for another church, the Church of Christ the King, in Tulsa in 1926.
Images for kids
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St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Racine, Wisconsin.
See also
