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St. Paul's Catholic Church

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1869. c. 1910. 1010 W. 4th St.

The church's green tile roof and tall belltower are familiar landmarks seen from I-95, which wiped out part of the neighborhood it served. The congregation today is mostly Puerto Rican and Mexican. A cornerstone gives the date of the first church, 1869, a brick edifice hidden by the twentieth-century granite skin. Buff terracotta trim contrasts with gray stone walls and green copper cornices. The church is entered through a Corinthian porch of terracotta into a narrow cross-hall with an attractive tiled floor. In the nave, slender columns support a graceful arcade. Decorative details are painted on the walls and arched ceiling, and stained glass abounds. The rectory (1930) next door continues the Italianate theme. The church makes an interesting comparison to twin-spired St. Hedwig's Roman Catholic (1904–1905) nearby at 408 S. Harrison Street, by a Milwaukee architect, E. Brilmaier, who was known to the pastor from his seminary days. That church, noted for its scagliola work and decorative painting, dominated a Polish neighborhood called Hedgeville.

Writing Credits

Author: 
W. Barksdale Maynard
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Citation

W. Barksdale Maynard, "St. Paul's Catholic Church", [Wilmington, Delaware], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/DE-01-WL71.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Delaware

Buildings of Delaware, W. Barksdale Maynard. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, 131-131.

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