St. Paul Church is a former

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on the southeastern corner of Twelfth and Spring Streets in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, in the city's

Pendleton Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri *Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *Pe ...

neighborhood. The

German-speaking German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

parish was formed in the winter of 1847–1848 to serve the members of St. Mary's Church who lived east of Clay Street. Under the leadership of

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

Joseph Ferneding, the members bought the present site and surrounding properties in February 1848; their design was finalized four months later, and construction was financed by the sale of the land now comprising the surrounding neighborhood. Construction was finished in 1850; the completed building measures and stands tall with a tin-covered

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d roof; the building is built of brick on a stone

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

. A fire in 1899 destroyed all but the church walls and German-made

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows, but reconstruction began at once, and the new St. Paul's was dedicated on October 7, 1900. Light fills the interior and the proscenium is supported by twelve

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. This brick Romanesque structure has broad

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

pilasters set in its corners and between its tall, round arched windows. It has a Renaissance tower capped with a Pope's Mitre

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

roof and

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

cross. The three arched doorways face Spring Street. Deconsecrated in 1974, the church complex was named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in the same year; the buildings compose a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

, the "St. Paul Church Historic District". In 1981,

The Verdin Company The Verdin Company is a manufacturer of bronze bells, clocks and towers based in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States. The company has been making bells for use in bell and clock towers, peals, chimes, and carillons since 1842. They also m ...

, a

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

and

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...

company, purchased the church,

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, schools, and

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

. The buildings were restored and the church was transformed into a bell and clock museum/showroom. The other buildings were transformed into art galleries. The records for this parish are located at Old St. Mary's Church. In 1983, the

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

gave the Verdin Company an award for its use of the church building, praising their restoration and

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

of the church. Today, the church is owned by Cafeo Hospitality. It is now a venue for weddings and corporate events.

References

External links

Pendleton Art CenterSt. Paul's 3D View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Paul Church Over the Rhine Roman Catholic churches in Cincinnati National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati German-American history German-American culture in Cincinnati Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Ohio Religious organizations established in 1847 1974 disestablishments in the United States Roman Catholic churches completed in 1850 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Historic districts in Cincinnati Romanesque Revival church buildings in Ohio 1847 establishments in Ohio Over-the-Rhine

References

Further reading

External links