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Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

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1931–1932, Frederick J. DeLongchamps. 1970. 590 Pyramid Way
  • (Photograph by Julie Nicoletta)

Though somewhat altered from its original appearance, this church in the North Italian Romanesque Revival style, loosely resembling Sant' Ambrogio in Milan, presents a counterpoint to the Sparks Museum. The cruciform brick building has a single nave with transept, all covered by a long red-tiled gable roof. Pairs of arched windows pierce the side walls flanked by brick buttresses. A brick-clad, shed-roofed vestibule with arched openings applied to the facade in 1970 has obscured the clean lines of the main elevation. The unadorned interior has a slightly vaulted ceiling from which hang six original black wrought iron chandeliers in a simple Mission Revival style. The bell that hangs in the tower at the rear of the building came from a firehouse in Virginia City and was purchased by Father William Devlin in 1938. The oldest extant Catholic church in Sparks, Immaculate Conception replaced an earlier structure, built in 1905, that burned down on Easter Sunday in 1930. Its construction coincided with the granting of diocesan status to Nevada by Pope Pius XI in 1931. The dedication of the church on 22 February 1932 marked a time of growth for the Catholic Church in Nevada.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Julie Nicoletta
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Data

What's Nearby

Sparks Museum (Washoe County Library–Sparks Branch)
Antique Shop (Hotel Abbay)
Offices (Bank of Sparks)
Glendale School
Robert H. Mitchell School

Citation

Julie Nicoletta, "Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church", [Sparks, Nevada], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NV-01-NW040.

Print Source

Buildings of Nevada, Julie Nicoletta. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, 85-85.

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