St. Michael's Church - Galena, Illinois
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
N 42° 24.920 W 090° 25.824
15T E 711425 N 4699090
This two-story red brick Romanesque Revival building is located at 227 S. Bench Street in Galena, Illinois.
Waymark Code: WM12CWM
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/30/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member ScroogieII
Views: 1

My Commentary:
This Church is on Bench halfway between Washington & Green. Very Victorian architecture (Romanesque Revival) with the strong square towers at each end of the building and the heavy emphasis on arches, both with doorways and windows. This building is a contributing building in the Galena Historic District.

Next is
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, belonging to the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the Rockford diocese. There was a resident pastor in Galena before Father St. Cyr selected a lot on Lake Street for the first Catholic church in Chicago. In 1827 the Irish-American residents of the lead mine district, numbering nearly 7,000, petitioned the Bishop of St. Louis to send them a pastor. The Reverend Father Vincent Badin established the parish, but no building was erected for eight years; then, under the third pastor, the missionary Charles Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P., the cornerstone was laid and the building completed in 1842. In 1848 the first parochial school was opened. In 1856 the church was razed by a fire which destroyed 38 buildings in the neighborhood.

The present church was built soon after, but the school did not reopen until 1870. The Shrine of the Little Flower in St. Michael's was dedicated in 1928. Names of visitors from many lands are in its register.

- Galena Guide, 1937, pg. 54



Current name: Saint Michael Church

Style: Italianate. Tower

Historical Summary: The original church was built in 1835 and was destroyed by fire in 1856. Reopened for services in 1863.

Architectural Description: This is a 1-story church in the Italianate style built ca. 1860. The foundation is limestone. Exterior walls are brick. The building has a front-gable roof. Windows are contemporary wood hopper; round arch. Doors are original or historic wood unglazed; paneled with fanlight.

- ruskinarc.com Historic Architecture Survey Database



National Register Building Details
 
ADDRESS HIST. PROPERTY NAME C or N/C DATE STYLE, FORM, TYPE
227 S. Bench Street Saint Michael Catholic Church C 1863 Romanesque Revival

- National Register Application

Book: Galena, IL

Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 54

Year Originally Published: 1937

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