Churches

I used to write about a local historic church every Saturday. It has been a hobby of mine for years to photograph them and I do that in the twin cities and all over the country when ever I have the opportunity.  Unfortunately it is hard to find information about many of them. The churches that do have web sites rarely have information about the building. Some can be found on the historic registers but not all.  They are built by one denomination and half a century later sold to another and then in some cases they change hands every decade or so after that. 

The history of the building becomes unimportant and gets lost in the shuffle.  It would be nice to have one web site that has all the churches on it and a place where buyers and sellers can get information. There seems to be an underserved market for people looking to buy or sell churches.  I am not sure I am ready to take on that project but I continue to take my photos and collect information.

The church in the picture couldn't be found on the Internet. It looks like it was built in the 1800's but I am not sure. It is located on highway 61 blvd just east of the 316 shoer cut to Hastings from Welch Village, MN

This from Dave, one of our readers:

Here's the Minnesota Historical Society's National Register of Historic Places summary for the Cross of Christ Lutheran Church which was originally the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Welch when built in 1878, according NRHP data extracted by waymarking.com.

Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, located at 1936 Standford, Avenue, St. Paul, MN. The building was built in 1938 .  Thee architectural style is Gothic,  but it is unusual in that it has no steeple and the exterior is made of seven kinds of granite.

It is very colorful, with beautiful stained glass windows.  The interior was renovated in 2002. The parish has a school next door.

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1935 St. Clair Avenue, St. Paul, MN

This building is not on the national register and I am unable to find a complete history.  It was built in 1926.  The church is about the same age as many of the homes in the immediate area.

A friend of mine keeps asking me when I am going to start posting "Saturday’s" church again.  I guess today is the day and we do have a special guest, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, and she is a beauty.  Another Cass gilbert creation, built in 1893.

Made of limestone, in the Gothic Style, and modeled after and English Parish church.    The church cost $25,000 to build and was a gift from Mrs. Theodore Eaton of New York.

The church is located at 901 Portland Avenue, St. Paul, MN.  Kind of hidden behind William Mitchel law school.

Saint Adalberts Catholic Church 265 Charles Ave St Paul, MN 55103 .  This simple brick church was built by catholic Polish immigrants in 1879.  The steeples can be seen from some distance.  My parents were married in this church, shortly after it was built,  or maybe  about 50 years ago, I forget which.    Yes there is a man working on the church, he is up by the steeple toward the back on the right.  His name is Henry, the church roofer.  I don’t know the names of the three pigeons near the east steeple.

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Back by popular demand, Saturday’s church.  A look at the historic churches in St. Paul.  I have learned a lot through these posts.  The churches stay in one place but they keep changing religions.  I think it is becasue of immigration and demographics not because of a  loss of, or change in faith. Just about every religious denomination on the planet can be found in St. Paul.

Rock Temple Church of God in Christ
Located at 515 Farrington Avenue, St. Paul, MN.  Built in 1902.  The church was built in the Gothic revival architectural style, by Norwegian immigrants and was originally a Lutheran church.  The neighborhood around the church was originally settled by German and Polish immigrants.

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