Historic Catholic Churches of Cincinnati

Part VII: Beyond Cincinnati, Before 1940

A nine part Sunday series on the still remaining and architecturally significant Catholic churches of Cincinnati from 1840 - 1969.

This series is an attempt to document every historic Catholic Church remaining in Cincinnati. This is not a list of every church, nor is it a history of each Parish. It is simply to serve as a reference for the date of dedication, the architect and style of the church buildings themselves. Included are those that I find to have architectural or historical merit from the Catholic Church’s earliest beginnings in Cincinnati to those churches built just after Vatican II.

There are many other notable Catholic churches outside the Cincinnati city limits in nearby communities. I have highlighted a few below. This first group covers those built prior to World War II, many in the older cities and town now considered suburbs of Cincinnati. A history of the Catholic Churches in the Cincinnati area would, in many cases, not be complete without these churches.


Ss. Peter and Paul Church
Reading – 417 West Vine Street
Dedicated: 1861; Renovated and enlarged, 1888; Tower replaced, 1914
Architect: Unknown
Style: Gothic Revival

St. Clement
St. Bernard – 4536 Vine Street
Dedicated: 1873; Renovated and enlarged, 1900; Stone added, 1913
Architect: William Stewart; Renovation and expansion, Louis Picket
Style: Gothic Revival

St. Elizabeth
Norwood – 1757 Mills Avenue
Dedicated: 1903
Architect: Unknown
Style: Romanesque Revival-Byzantine
Closed in 1994; now used by the Vineyard Church.

St. Gabriel
Glendale – 48 West Sharon Road
Dedicated: 1907
Architect: Unknown
Style: Romanesque Revival

St. Aloysius
Elmwood Place - 314 Township Avenue
Dedicated: 1918
Architect: Anthony Kunz, Jr.
Style: Romanesque Revival

St. Martin of Tours
Cheviot – 3720 St. Martin Place
Dedicated: 1923
Architect: J. Charles Grunkemeyer
Style: Lombardy – Italian Romanesque Revival

St. Matthew
Norwood – 2310 Robertson Avenue
Dedicated: 1910, Old Church; 1924, Current Church
Architect: Anthony Kunz, Jr., Old Church
Style: Italian Romanesque Revival, Old Church; Gothic Revival, Current Church
Closed in 1994; now used by Immaculate Conception, although not affiliated with the Archdiocese

St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Taylor’s Creek – 7130 Harrison Avenue
Dedicated: 1936
Architect: Edward J. Schulte
Style: Romanesque Revival

St. Martin de Porres
Original Name: St. Christina
Lincoln Heights – 9927 Wayne Avenue
Dedicated: 1937
Architect: Unknown
Style: Colonial Revival
An Archbishop McNicholas Mission Church

Holy Trinity
Original Name: Ss. Peter and Paul Church
Norwood – 2420 Drex Avenue
Dedicated: 1940
Architect: Edward J. Schulte
Style: Gothic Revival

References and the map Historic Catholic Churches of Cincinnati of every church mentioned in this series will be included in Part IX.

Next Sunday, May 31
Part VIII: Beyond Cincinnati, 1940 – 1969

Last Week: Part VI

Historic images from the Library’s Cincinnati Memory Project.