Friday, November 30, 2012

Three Churches at the Intersection of Columbus Avenue and Jefferson Street

In this aerial view of Columbus Avenue, taken around 1920, one can see the three churches located at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Jefferson Street. (The church steeple in the right foreground of the picture is Emmanuel Church.) The oldest of the three churches at this intersection is Saints Peter and Paul Church, located at the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Jefferson Street. According to the Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places, Saints Peter and Paul Church (below) was built of limestone in 1865 by Patrick Charles Keely in the Victorian Gothic style. The triple windows in the tower and the three front doors are reflective of the Trinitarian theme often used by Keely.



The First Congregational Church was built in 1895 by George Philip Feick in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. Tiffany glass is featured in this two story church, located at 431 Columbus Avenue.

George Feick was also the builder of Zion Lutheran Church, built in 1898-1899 at the southwest corner of Columbus Avenue and Jefferson Street. The church was built from limestone in the Victorian Romanesque style. Many early German immigrants worshipped at this church, whose congregation formed in 1847. Well into the twentieth century, there was a German language service held here every Sunday. Zion Lutheran Church served as a mother church for several other Lutheran churches in the area.

Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about these and several other area churches. In the Church Collections of the Archives Research Center are many vintage photographs, church histories, and church records on microfilm.
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3 comments:

  1. Ed DanielThursday, December 6, 2012 at 3:39:00 PM EST

    Sts. Peter and Paul Church was the church where future football great Knute Rockne was married in 1915. He was a student at Notre Dame University and was a summer employee at Cedar point, where he met his wife.

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  2. Kevin HammerTuesday, December 11, 2012 at 11:19:00 PM EST

    Patrick Keely also designed Toledo St. Francis de Sales, which was the first cathedral for Toledo. More information about Keely here:
    http://www.keelysociety.com/

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  3. Ed DanielFriday, December 14, 2012 at 4:18:00 PM EST

    Patrick Keely was one of the most prominent and prolific church architects in the 19 and early 20th century. His firm designed over 400 churrhes, mostly in the eastern adn midwestern states, including many cathedrals. Most, but not all, of his churches were Roman Catholic.

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