St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church Photograph by Andrew Hope
1893–1894, James Eagan. 723 W. Washington St.

The name of this Gothic Revival church identifies the ethnic roots of this congregation as does its Anglo-Irish architectural style. St. Patrick’s version of Gothic Revival, with its broad, low body and buttressed walls, contrasts with Milwaukee’s taller, narrower German-styled Gothic churches. The stocky bell tower with its square, simple lines is more heavily buttressed and shorter than those of the German-styled churches, with their octagonal drum stages that support slender, tapered spires. A rhythmic row of seven dormers pierces each side of St. Patrick’s main roof, a feature not seen in German churches. St. Patrick’s beautiful interior retains its original design with extensive decorative stenciling on the plaster walls and vaults. Austrian-made stained glass windows line the nave and chancel, bathing the interior in pastel light. Hammer beams support the ceiling vaults, which gives a wide, spacious nave without piers. The reredos and main and side altars are made of gleaming white marble.

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