Historic Catholic Churches of Cincinnati

Part I: 1840 – 1859

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.

Part I include the oldest Catholic churches in Cincinnati and include in fact the oldest church, Old St. Mary’s, of any kind remaining and still in use as a church in the city. All have either been identified as a local landmark or on the National Register of Historic Place or are located in a National Register Historic District. Their generally simple Greek Revival form is indicative of the prevalent style of the day. But the design of St. Peter in particular speaks of the relative youth of the Catholic Church in the Ohio Valley at this time.


Old St. Mary’s
Over the Rhine – 123 East 13th Street
Dedicated: 1842; Addition, 1865; Renovation, 1892.
Architect: Franz Ignatz Erd
Style: Eclectic with Greek and Gothic Revival detail and Baroque Revival interior.
Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located in the Over the Rhine National Historic District

St. Peter
South Fairmont – 2145 Queen City Avenue
Dedicated: 1844
Architect: Unknown
Style: Vernacular
Closed in 1868
Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and located in the Lick Run National Historic District

St. Peter in Chains
Downtown – 325 West 8th Street
Dedicated: 1845; Addition & Renovation, 1957
Architect: Henry Walter; Addition & Renovation, Edward J. Schulte
Style: Greek Revival
A local historic landmark and individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places

St. Michael the Archangel
Lower Price Hill – 2110 St. Michael Street

Dedicated: 1848; Later alterations & renovations

Architect: Unknown
Style: Eclectic with Greek and Gothic Revival detail
Closed in 1998
Located in the Lower Price Hill National Historic District

St. Paul
Over the Rhine – 12th and Spring Streets
Dedicated: 1850; Extensively rebuilt and renovated in 1899
Architect: Seneca Palmer; Renovation and tower, Samuel Hannaford & Sons
Style: Greek Revival
Closed in 1975
Located in the Over the Rhine National Historic District

St. Francis Seraph
Over the Rhine – 1615 Vine Street
Dedicated: 1859
Architect: James McLaughlin
Style: Romanesque Revival
Located in the Over the Rhine National Historic District

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

Next Sunday, April 19
Part II: 1860 – 1879

Historic images from the Library’s Cincinnati Memory Project.