Reprinted with permission as a public service by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, now the Preservation Buffalo Niagara
Houses of Worship: A Guide to the Religious Architecture of Buffalo, New York
By James Napora
Table of Contents
Reprinted with permission as a public service by the Landmark Society of the Niagara Frontier, now the Preservation Buffalo Niagara
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL ROMAN CATHOLIC CHLMCH - 1924-1926
Main at Eastwood (NE)
Architects: Thomas, Perry & McMullen
Founded 1864During the yedrs after 1860, the area on Main Street in the vicinity of Humboldt Parkway began to be settled by predominantly German families. Many had cone to work at the nearby Yammenthal Stone Quarry. By 1864, with forty Catholic families in the area, the need for a Catholic house of worship became apparent. Atthat time, with the closest Catholic churches being either St. Louis on Main Street downtown or St. Joseph's on Main Street in Elysville, the families petitioned the diocese for a priest to serve them. The Bishop in turn appointed Rev. Joseph Sorg with the task of organizing a parish there. He quickly secured the property on Main at Eastwood and erected a small frame church.
Throughout the early years the congregation grew slowly as there was little reason for people to settle there. But as the city expanded and industry moved into the area, people too arrived. By 1887, they had outgrown their original building and proceeded to construct a modest brick house of worship on the southeast corner of Main and Eastwood. They remained here for almost forty years before once again outgrowing the building.
The church
In 1924 planning commenced for the present building on the site.They broke ground in the summer and placed the cornerstone on 6 October, 1924. The cornerstone of the church is unique in that it is not placed on an exterior corner of the building. Instead it is placed in the base of one of the columns in the sanctuary.The congregation dedicated their completed building in services, on 26 November, 1926.
Designed by the Pittsburgh firm of Thomas, Perry & McMullen, the$500,000 house of worship is a cross between the Romanesque and the Byzantine styles. The dome, 55 feet in diameter and 110 feet high, is ringed with coupled arched windows and is crowned with a bronze lantern. The lofty interior combines buff colored brick with salt glazed tile executed by the Raphael Guastavino Tile Company to create true unity throughout. The sanctuary, features a colorful mural entitled The Hand of God by Felix B.Lieftuchter of New York City. He executed it in a process invented by German chemists in the 1920s where mineral paints areapplied to plaster in a manner similar to fresco painting. The paints dry in such a manner as to leave the surface porous resulting in increased resiliency to climatic extremes. Lieftuchter also executed the mosaics and panels within the building.The congregation worshipped in the building until it closed on 31 May, 1993 during the Catholic downsizing of the inner city. At that time, they merged with Blessed Trinity on Leroy. The building currently serves as a cultural center for Canisius College.
© 1995 James Napora
Page by Chuck LaChiusa with the assistance of David Torke
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