Friday, October 10, 2008

The Forgotten Catholic Churches of the Basin

I have always been struck by the shear number of Catholic churches and parishes that were once located in the Basin that have since been closed and in many cases, their churches demolished. Prompted by a post about the demolition of St. Philomena in the Catholic Telegraph Photography Project Blog I decided to finish some of my research and post as close to a comprehensive list of lost churches and closed parishes. These include churches in the sweeping crescent from the near East End, through Downtown and Over-the-Rhine, to West End/Queensgate and including Lower Price Hill.

All Saints, East End
East Third Street near Kemper
Organized: 1837 (Have also seen 1845)
Closed: 1936

Atonement, Downtown
West Third near Central Avenue
Organized: 1870
Closed: 1913
Began as the Chapel of the Sisters of Mercy and eventually developed into St. Anthony of Padua in Walnut Hills

Blessed Sacrament, Lower Price Hill
2339 Wider Avenue
Organized: 1874
Closed: 1974
Original Church was on Depot Street

Holy Angels, East End
Torrence Lane near Columbia Parkway
Organized: 1859
Closed: 1999
Photo miss labeled. Moved to Grandin & Madison Roads in 1920

Holy Trinity, Downtown/Queensgate
West Fifth Street at Mound
Organized: 1834
Closed: 1958

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Downtown
527 Broadway
Organized: 1890
Closed: 1970


St. Ann, West End
John St. between Richmond and Court Streets
Organized: 1866
Closed: 1938
Began on Longworth Street, moved to New Street, and then moved again to John Street.
St. Anthony, Queensgate
1119 Budd Street
Organized: 1860
Closed: 1962
St. Augustine, West End
923 Bank Street
Organized: 1852
Closed: 1978
St. Edward, West End
Clark and Mound Streets
Organized: 1863 (I have also seen 1864)
Closed: 1965

St. Henry, Queensgate
Flint Street near Cortlandt Street
Organized: 1873
Closed: 1978
St. John the Baptist, Over-The-Rhine
Green and Bremen (now Republic) Streets
Organized: 1844
Closed: 1969
St. Michael the Archangel, Lower Price Hill
2110 St. Michael Street
Organized: 1847
Closed: 1998
St. Patrick, Downtown
Third and Mill Streets
Organized: 1850
Closed: 1918
St. Paul, Over-the-Rhine
12th and Spring Streets
Organized: 1848
Closed: 1974
St. Philomena, Downtown
619 East Third Street
Organized: 1846
Closed: 1954
Church below on Pearl Street served parish until 1923 when they moved in to the school building located on Third after a fire.

St. Stanislaus, West End
Liberty and Cutter Streets
Organized: 1872
Closed: 1935
St. Thomas, Downtown
Sycamore Street between 5th & 6th
Organized: 1852
Closed: 1918
Original church built as Sycamore Street Baptist Church

According to the History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 1894, it also appears that many Catholic institutions, including hospitals and convents would include a chapel and they were listed in that directory as "churches". In the Basin these includes the Chapel of the Sisters of Notre Dame, 6th Street, Downtown; the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at St. Mary’s Hospital, Betts and Linn Streets, West End; and the Chapel of the Convent of St. Clara, Third and Lytle, Downtown. However these Chapels do not show up as a parish in any records that I have seen to date.

This list also does not include St. Joseph of Nazareth, Over-The-Rhine, which was not founded until 1914 as St. Stephan. Nor does it included older parishes just beyond the Basin area that have since closed like St. George, Corryville; Holy Cross, Mt. Adams; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Sedamsville; St. Bonaventure, South Fairmount; St. Patrick, Northside; and St. Pius, South Cumminsville.

References:
History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 1894
Endres, David J. Profiles of Roman Catholic Parishes in Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Historic photos from Library’s Cincinnati Memory Project.

4 comments:

steve-o said...

Grateful for the Atonement info. Never knew where St Anthony of Padua started.

Didn't know if you knew anything of Mount Carmel Catholic Church on Burbank in Walnut Hills. As it was Little Italy, I believe the church was connected to Sacred Heart, but don't know what became of it; the building is no longer there.

CityKin said...

That was a great survey. Maybe you could do a post on the Sister's of Mercy building in front of Union Terminal. That is another kinda forgotten Catholic Church/school.

Unknown said...

I note that the steeple at the back of St. John the Baptist was preserved when the church was demolished and is still part of the community center buildings at Green and Republic.

Kathy Reed said...

I appreciate your blog. I am really interested in my family's early history in Cincinnati. It's really nice to be able to see pictures of the Churches where they were married 150 years ago. It gives context to my research.