herr2ck: Springfield Trip, pt. 3

March 2025.

This short post continues the Springfield saga with some buildings along High Street east of Spring Street. (The
East High Street Historic District has its own post.) I’ll start at Spring Street and proceed eastward.

St. Raphael Church

Historic photo of St. Raphael’s, possibly taken from the Lagonda Club. (Ohio History Connection)

The original St. Raphael Church was built in 1849 for Springfield’s growing Catholic population. It was expanded between 1865 and 1866, which included “beautifying its various appointments.” (The church’s website uses some of the most florid language I’ve ever seen to describe its history.) As Springfield grew, the original church and school became too small, which required the construction of a new building. The existing St. Raphael’s was designed by Charles Cregar in 1892. Its basement was completed in December 1893 and used for Christmas Mass, but the remainder was not finished until 1898. It was listed on the NRHP in 1976.

Designed in the Gothic Revival style, the towers are 184 and 135 feet in height, respectively. The masonry is Berea sandstone, while the interior features quartered oak woodwork. Its cost was $75,000.

The north facade is a typical tripartite design:

Along with the Latin cross plan, this is a standard Gothic Revival church, but its verticality is much different from the stalwart and horizontal High Street Methodist across the street.

High Street United Methodist Church

The earlier High Street United Methodist. (HSUM website)

Methodists worshiped in Springfield as early as 1803, in Grifith Foos’ tavern at the corner of Main Street and Spring Street. Their first purpose-built church was a log structure on the bank of Mill Run, which was built in 1811, and an 1814 church was built out of lumber on the northwest corner of North Street and Fountain Avenue. In 1833, a larger brick church was constructed a block south, which was known as the Columbia Street Methodist Church. By 1849, the congregation had grown so large that a contingency of members split off to found the High Street Methodist Church. They built another brick church in 1851, pictured above. An addition was added to the front in 1868, and it was renovated in 1881.

Historic photo (colorized?) of High Street United Methodist prior to its addition in 1966. (HSUM website)

In 1902, it was decided that a new church building would be constructed. It was designed by notable Columbus architect Frank Packard in his typical Eclectic style, incorporating Gothic and Craftsman features. The church was inspired by one in the country of England. It was completed and dedicated in 1904. The adjacent parish house was demolished in 1966 for an addition to the west, which mimics the original masonry but sports an asphalt roof for cost reasons. The church was most recently renovated in the early 2000s.

I really like the eclectic nature of this design, and it was very typical of Packard’s work to experiment with existing styles. Gothic Revival architecture is usually vertical, yet here features like the tower are atypically squat for their scale. The long addition further elongates the building visually. The overhanging gable and tile roof are also unusual for Gothic architecture but would fit on a Craftsman structure.

The long nave is actually a Latin cross with very small transepts:

I’m surprised that this building isn’t on the NRHP yet, since it has a high level of historic integrity and was designed by a notable architect.

St. Raphael Parish Center

St. Raphael’s website says the school is a three-story building built in 1877, but this structure seems to be two stories and constructed c. 1900-1920. It must have replaced the earlier design, since the sill reads “HIGH SCHOOL” below the central second-floor window.

I first thought this might have been Springfield’s old high school, but that building is in fact much larger and located elsewhere.

302 East High Street

This Richardsonian Romanesque house was built c. 1880-1900, and is the westernmost of High Street’s massive Victorian mansions. Its cross-gable construction with a tower between is typical massing of the style.

The masonry construction of brick and stone is likewise a hallmark of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, as well as the vaulting seen across the house.