Saturday, August 1, 2015

St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Seward Alaska.


This is St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Seward Alaska.  It was built in 1906.  The architectural style is apparently called "Bungalow/Craftsman", the first church so identified as such here in this blog.

Seward Memorial Methodist Church (and Resurrection Lutheran church), Seward Alaska


This is a Methodist Church in Seward Alaska.  Other than that, I can't relate anything else about it including age, etc.  Resurrection Lutheran Church, which I didn't otherwise photograph, is visible immediately behind it.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, Soldatna Alaska


This modern structure Catholic church is located in Soldatna, Alaska.  It's just in front of what was probably the original church, which I unfortunately did not get a photograph of. This photo, for that matter, isn't very good.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Casa Oracion, Green River Wyoming



This small Prairie Gothic style church in the courthouse district of Green River, Wyoming is now used by this Protestant Spanish language church.  Other than that, I don't know anything about it.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, New Mexico


















This is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This Catholic Cathedral was built from 1869 through 1886  in the Romanesque style, although the style is not completely obvious as the spires planned for the church, a prominent feature of that style, were never installed.

The cathedral was built on the location of an earlier church, La Parroquia, which had been built in 1714 through 1717, and which itself stood on the location of a church built in 1626 that had been destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt.  A small portion of the earlier church was incorporated in the construction of the cathedral.

An interesting feature of this church is that it is located only two blocks away from San Miguel church.  This tends to show the Catholic concentration of the community at the time these various churches were built, as they were being built in close proximity to each other.  Santa Fe retains at least one more downtown Catholic church today.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel, Santa Fe, New Mexico















These photographs depict the Our Lady of Light (Loretto) Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Built from 1873 to 1878 for the Sisters of Loretto, who ran a school nearby, the chapel is famous for its spiral staircase, which has perplexed observers for decades. The staircase lacks a visible means of support, was built with only hammer and saw, and features only wooden nails.  The builder of the staircase is unknown, and left before being able to be paid.  Some claim the staircase as miraculous.  

The chapel was deconsecrated in 1971, following the closure of the school in 1968.  Today it is privately owned and features a museum and is used for a wedding chapel.

This chapel was built basically next door to the  Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, and was built while the cathedral was under construction.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

San Miguel Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico






This church is the oldest church in the United States.  Built between 1610 and 1626, the church is still an active Catholic church offering two Masses on Sundays.

This church serves as a reminder that our concepts of North American settlement are often somewhat in error.  This church in is the American Southwest and has been in active use for over 400 years, a figure longer than any church in the American East, and a demonstration that much of what we associate with European civilization in North America was already further West at an early stage than we sometimes credit, and that what became the North American civilization was already less European, in significant ways. This church, for example was constructed by regional natives.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Denver Colorado.


These cell phone photos, taken from a vehicle, depict the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Denver.  The church was originally built as St. John the Evangelist Church, in 1909, but it was later consolidated due to demographic changes with St. Philomena's, which was accordingly closed. When the parishes were consolidated, the church was renamed reflecting the combination of the two parishes.  This well preserved church in is in the Cherry Creek region of Denver.


Saturday, January 24, 2015

Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity, Toronto Ontario


This is the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Ontario.  It was built in 1847, and is located in what is now the very downtown heart of Toronto.


I admit I'm pushing the geographic  nature of this blog with this one (not for the first time), as Toronto wouldn't normally be considered "the west", but perhaps its not quite as farfetched as it might seem. While Toronto is a huge major North American city today, all Canadian cities in this region and further west were, at one time, part of the Canadian frontier, a frontier that lasted longer in some respects than the frontier in the United States did, even though the history of the Canadian West and the American West are part and parcel of each other.

This is an Anglican church,. and at one time Toronto was a very English town.