St. Patrick’s is located at 280 North Grant Avenue in the Discovery District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by Mt. Vernon Avenue to the north, Naghten Street and several warehouses to the south, Kelly Alley to the east, and Grant Avenue to the west.
History
Columbus saw an influx of Irish immigrants in 1848, who were escaping the potato famine currently occurring in their home country. At that time, Columbus’s only Catholic church was Holy Cross on 5th Street, which was a German Catholic congregation. The Irish and Germans shared the church until 1850, when they voted to split. In February 1851, St. Patrick’s congregation was established, and its first pastor was appointed (Reverend John Furlong). The parish’s name stems from St. Patrick being the patron saint of Ireland.
A postcard of the church, which seems to show it whitewashed. (Columbus Dispatch)
The church’s site, at the northeast corner of Grant Avenue (then 7th Street) and Naghten Street (nicknamed Irish Broadway at the time), was purchased from Robert E. Neill for $1,000. In the 1850s, this was a field on the outskirts of town, only connected to Union Station via a dirt road, which became Naghten Street. Its cornerstone was laid on September 5, 1852, construction work being done by Messrs. Clark and Harding, and the church was dedicated on September 25, 1853. The building is in the Gothic Revival style, called “Norman Gothic” by some sources, and its two crenellated towers are inspired by the medieval castles of Ireland.
$1,200 towards the construction of the building was donated by its parishioners, who continued to attend services during construction, though the process was almost put on hold several times due to funding issues. Interestingly, it was also the first Columbus church with a bell, which was added circa 1855. It was also the pro-cathedral of the Diocese of Columbus before the construction of St. Joseph Cathedral in 1878. The buttresses on the exterior of the church date to 1877, which shored up the weakening exterior walls.
St. Patrick’s quickly expanded, with the construction of a school and rectory that took place in 1854 and 1857, respectively. The parish’s growth resulted in the construction of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, as parishioners overcrowded the church.
A historic photo of Aquinas Hall. (Lost Colleges)
In 1905, after a bishop’s request for the parish to open a high school, the 1854 school building was used for that purpose. However, the school moved to a new building near Jefferson Avenue in 1906, which eventually became the largest Catholic high school in Columbus. It closed in 1965, and the building was sold to the Columbus Board of Education. The building stands today as Aquinas Hall on the campus of Columbus State Community College. Another source asserts that this high school was also an attempt to open a college, and that the state of Ohio allowed it to award college degrees in 1911. The historic marker on site seems to corroborate this.
Historic photo of the church’s fire. (PBS)
A major fire on May 28, 1935 heavily damaged the church building. The roof was being repaired, and a worker’s blowtorch ignited a hidden bird’s nest in the gutters. The winds that day made the fire spread quickly, but the fire department responded quickly, saving the walls and stained-glass windows. The church was repaired and reopened in 1936. This resulted in the loss of many historic features inside the church, which was unaltered.
Columbus’s “urban renewal” schemes in the mid-20th century altered the former character of St. Patrick’s and its surrounding neighborhood. With both white flight and the cutting of I-71 through the city just east of the church, this resulted in a decline in attendance and the eventual view of the church as an “inner city parish.” This coincided with the closure of the elementary school in 1959 (which was probably demolished around the same time, as it no longer stands) and the aforementioned high school’s closure. The church experienced a resurgence in the 1990s, with an increase of churchgoers. Additionally, the church’s parish center was opened in 2004, which was designed by Harper Architects & Engineers, along with renovations to the original building.
Photos
An oblique view of the church from the corner of Naghten Street and Grant Avenue:
The design is very simple. It has two crenellated towers, which are equal in height, that anchor a simple nave. The west facade has a little detailing in its faux rose window and tympanum, but most of it is unelaborated brick. It’s definitely a great example of a more working-class congregation.
The entire church and modern parish center from the nearby parking lot:
Grant Avenue facade:
These towers are very simple, with only a small arched window and two vents in the belfry:
Wooden doors:
Tympanum above, which has a quatrefoil and flower motif in low relief:
Ohio Historical Marker:
A statue of Saint Patrick at the corner, who is holding a little model of the church:
Note that he’s standing on snakes--this is part of a legend that he drove them out of Ireland, as the country lacks native snakes.
Naghten Street facade:
Buttresses, made of brick with stone caps, bolster the exterior walls. Each bay has a pointed stained-glass window set inside.
Bay detail:
The rear of the church, which has a small apse:
The rectory:
Its central pointed eave shows some Gothic Revival influence, but the rest is rather vernacular in its construction. I also like the vaulted entrance portal and its art-glass transom:
I love my elaborate Gothic Revival churches, but sometimes the humbler ones have a more interesting history, as is the case here.
Sources:
Architecture: Columbus by Robert Samuelson
AIA Guide to Columbus by Jeffrey Darbee
https://www.stpatrickcolumbus.org/our-history
https://www.lostcolleges.com/388-st-patrick-s-aquinas-college
https://www.pbs.org/video/historic-fire-at-st-patricks-church-rare-photos-from-1935-r7amwj/
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