Allegheny County PA Archives- Photos: St. Mary's German Catholic Church, Allegheny County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Clara Kress, 1999 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/ ________________________________________________ http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/photos/stmary-german.txt Photo may be viewed at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/allegheny/photos/stmary-german.jpg St. Mary's German Catholic Church Thanks to Clara Kress St. Mary's Catholic Church was founded on December 8, 1848 to serve the growing population of German Americans in Allegheny City, now the North Side of Pittsburgh. The first church was a temporary wood frame building 90 feet by 40 feet. The present site is located between Lockhart Street and Pressley Street, just west of their intersection with Nash Street. The existing brick structure was begun in 1852 and completed in 1854. The building was 150 feet long by 65 feet wide with a seating capacity of about 900. Two broad Romanesque towers on the corners of the church originally ended in Bavarian domes. The church was built without windows for fear of the constant vandalism of the Know-Nothings, a radical socio-political group that threw rocks through stained glass windows of Roman Catholic Churches. Lighting inside the church was initially provided by candles, a few small, semi-circular windows, and a large skylight. The building has undergone several renovations during its 133 year history. In 1872, a 25 foot by 40 foot wooden altar was mounted over the original brick main altar. Electric lights were installed in 1900. Stained glass windows made in Austria were installed in 1912. In 1923, the exterior of the two dome-shaped towers were completely remounted and the two Byzantine style domes were removed and replaced with a small roof on each tower and capped with crosses. Up until World War I there was always one Mass on Sunday with a sermon in German. In 1888 the Benedictines built a priory next to the church where St. Mary's clergy and visiting monks stayed. In the early 1970's, the proposed East Street Highway inter-change of I-279 brought about the closing of St. Mary's Church. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Highways condemned the church for the highway and purchased St. Mary's Church for $1,294,000. The church rented the building from the state for eight more years. St. Mary's was later deconsecrated. An auction was held on April 15, 1995 to sell architectural items, altar sections, life sized religious statuary, stations of the cross, mantels, doors, shutters, lights, including a large wrought iron and stained glass chandelier, a Victorian floor safe, antique and new armoires, household items, box lots, and a '79 Ford F150 Super cab pickup truck, ready for work. [Notice from Three Rivers Auction Company] The present owners of St. Mary's Church and the priory next door have converted the property to a hotel called The Priory - A City Inn. They have a book with color pictures of the church and present facility for sale. It is called "A Story of Resurrection: The Transformation of St. Mary's German Catholic Church into Pittsburgh's Grand Hall at The Priory." It was around $22.00 (in November, 1997) including tax and postage. The book includes older pictures of the church. For more information about the book or St. Mary's, write to: Mrs. Mary Ann Graf The Priory - A City Inn 614 Pressley Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Sources: "A Story of Resurrection: The Transformation of St. Mary's German Catholic Church into Pittsburgh's Grand Hall at The Priory," by Stephen Graf, 1996 "Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait", by Franklin Toker, 1986, p. 180 "North Side Free Press", Sept. 21, 1981, page 1 "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", Sept. 20, 1981, newspaper clipping