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West Virginia » Lower Ohio and Kanawha Valleys » Huntington » 5th Avenue East and Marshall University » St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church

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1884–1889. 1910, 1916, 1933. East side of 13th St. between 5th and 6th aves.
  • St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (Ed Wright)

Unequal towers flank the central block of this Gothic Revival church, executed in lighttoned, coursed, quarry-faced sandstone. A wheel window above a tiny projecting vestibule tries to dominate the facade, but the eye is invariably drawn to a single, superfluous flying buttress that ties the gable to the shorter of the two towers. Inside, the open nave and polygonal chancel have simple wooden trusses and colorful art glass windows.

Although a portion of the foundation had been laid before Father John Werninger arrived in 1884, the church was completed under his direction, and he likely had a hand in the final design. At the end of his stint in Huntington, Werninger went to Hinton to build St. Patrick's Church (see Summers County). St. Joseph's has been remodeled and enlarged a number of times since its supposed completion in 1889.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.

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