St. Thomas the Apostle Church - West Springfield, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 06.353 W 072° 38.395
18T E 695137 N 4664227
The Neo-Gothic-Romanesque Revival style St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church is located at 63 Pine Street in the Mittineague section of West Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM13FQ5
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 12/03/2020
Views: 2
Reverend Patrick Healy, of Drumgooly, County Kilkenny, Ireland came to America shortly after his ordination. In 1864, he was assigned as Pastor of the Holy Name of Jesus, in Chicopee. West Springfield was a mission areas under his administration. On March 25, 1865 he purchased a tract of land on Pine Street for the construction of a new Catholic church. In 1872, the wooden church of St. Thomas was built. It was subsequently destroyed by a fire on June 8. 1905.
A cornerstone for the present brick church was laid later in 1905 and construction began on April 5, 1906 to a design by the diocese architect John William Donohue in the Neo-Gothic style with some elements of Romanesque Revival architecture. The church was completed in December of that year and the first mass was said that Christmas Day. A formal dedication took place on May 26, 1907. (
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A set of steps leads up to the entrance which has a double set of red doors below rounded arch. Above the entrance is a large set of Pallidian windows. A small louvered window and a cross is located just below a large slate gable roof. On the south side of the main block is a four-story high bell tower with a double set of pointed louvered windows on each side and a crenellated roof.
The north side of the church is seven bays wide with windows with rounded tops on the first five bays followed by and auxiliary entrance and then single window on the 7th bay. The south side has 7 bays beyond the tower. The first three bays have windows with large rectangular windows, followed by another auxiliary entrance, and ending with two bays with smaller rectangular windows ans a small doorway.
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