St. Mary's Church (Augusta, Maine)

St. Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic church at 41 Western Avenue in Augusta, Maine. Built in 1926, it is one of the city's finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[1]

St. Mary's Church
St. Mary's Church (Augusta, Maine) is located in Maine
St. Mary's Church (Augusta, Maine)
St. Mary's Church (Augusta, Maine) is located in the United States
St. Mary's Church (Augusta, Maine)
Location41 Western Ave., Augusta, Maine
Coordinates44°18′42″N 69°47′3″W / 44.31167°N 69.78417°W / 44.31167; -69.78417
Arealess than one acre
Built1926 (1926)
Built byLouis Milo Co.
ArchitectO'Connell & Shaw
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.87000943[1]
Added to NRHPJune 12, 1987

Description and history

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St. Mary's Church stands on the north side of Western Avenue, southwest of Augusta's downtown and north of the state capitol complex. It is a single-story masonry structure, built out of ashlar granite. The long nave is oriented perpendicular to the street, with a steeply pitched gable roof. Set back from the front are side projections, a single-story entrance vestibule on the left, and the main tower on the right. The main entrance is at the center of the nave end, in an ornately decorated projecting Gothic-arch opening, with buttresses and pinnacles at the corners. The main tower is equally ornate, rising first to a gabled roof with a tall steeple above that. The interior has seen only minimal alteration since the building's construction.[2]

The church was built in 1926-27 in order to handle growth in the city's Roman Catholic population. It was built as the third sanctuary for a parish established in 1830. It was designed by the Boston architectural firm of O'Connell & Shaw; Timothy G. O'Connell had by then a well-established reputation, with numerous commissions for Roman Catholic church and school edifices in Maine.[2] St. Mary's was merged with four other congregations in 2007 to form a single large parish called St. Michael's; this continues to be used as one of that parish's churches.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Kirk Mohney (1987). "NRHP nomination for St. Mary's Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-07-09. with photos from 1987
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