14 July 2008

St Joseph of Nazareth Church

I never knew why there was this building on Liberty, with an inscription "Archdiocese Board of Education". What was the history here?

Well, I was talking to a neighbor a couple months ago, and she told me that she grew up going to a church at the corner of Elm and Liberty. She said it was a beautiful church, with marble pews. She also attended grade school at next door at this building, which was later used as Archdiosece offices:


I wasn't able to find a picture of the church, which was at the northwest corner of Elm and Liberty Streets, until a few days ago, when the Catholic Telegraph responded to my request and posted some information here. The photo is just of the door. This blog is starting to post some interesting photos, so you may want to give it a look.

Here is a quick description of the church:
Built in 1864 as St. Matthew German Evangelical Church under the guidance of Rev. Maurice Raschig, it became St. Joseph in 1919, a Hungarian-Catholic Church. Razed in 1963, the structure resembled Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. The former St. Joseph Grade School still stands at Liberty and Logan Streets NEC.
-Cincinnati: Over-the-Rhine by Robert J. Wimberg.

Here is a site plan from the Auditor's Office. The school site is two buildings to the west at Logan Street:

The gas-station, now temporary labor office at site of church:

If there is anyone out there who has any additional photos of the church, please let me know.

This whole corner is owned by the Smith Foundation, which seems to be doing nothing with them, except they did fix up the school a bit and have demolished a couple others.

[where: 1601-11 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202] Church Site
[where: 224 West Liberty, Cincinnati, OH 45202] School UPDATE Feb 17, 2015: Sanborn Map of the Area

8 comments:

WestEnder said...

The Smith Foundation website has a tinge of a weird vibe.

Anonymous said...

That website gives me the same feeling I had when I met Gale Smith several years ago. Lots of non-specific "big plans". Does this foundation DO anything?

Julie said...

Thanks for the tip on the Catholic Telegraph's site, btw. As a very lapsed Catholic, I still sort of have interest in it-- my grandma grew up in OTR and attended St. Joseph and St. Francis Seraph. And now I'm reading about Girl's Town. Fascinating!

CityKin said...

You don't happen to have any photos of your family at St Joseph's do you?

Dan said...

Here is what I have found so far online:

Location: Liberty and Elm Sts.Status: Closed August 1, 1963Congregation Organized: 1914 (as St. Stephen)Original Church Dedicated: April 18, 1920Parent Parishes: St. Stephen Hungarian Church, Mount AdamsEthnicity: HungarianRecords for this Parish are located at:Notes: St. Joseph's congregation bought the former St. Matthew Evangelical Church in 1919. The "Hungarian" designation ofthe parish ceased in the 1930's. The church building was razed in 1963 after the parish closed.

Bibliography:
St. Joseph of Nazareth, Cincinnati, April 20, 1920 University of Notre Dame Archives: Printed Parish History Collection, Box 86

CityKin said...

Thanks Dan.

Anonymous said...

Good for people to know.

carolynh2 said...

My father's family went to St Joseph's and my Aunt Catherine Bischak was a kindergarten teacher there for many years. I have photos of the kindergarten, and wedding pictures taken in the church. Always loved the Christmas mass -- it was in Germany.