St Mary's Church

We continue south on Howard street to the intersection with Hickory street, and turn right. Half a block down on the left, the St. Mary's Catholic church comes into view. Built in 1891, this church is a beautiful example of the Gothic Revival style. The Indiana Department of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, or DHPA, classifies this building as Outstanding for its historical significance.

The Gothic Cathedral style is a throwback to medieval times as Europe emerged from the dark ages and kings and bishops competed for God's favor building majestic cathedrals that emphasized height and vertical lines. Unlike the classical temples which had no openings in the interior walls, medieval builders sought to maximize interior light using many, large windows. Here we see the Gothic style in the sleek verticality of the building, doors and windows emphasized by pointed arches.

Those fancy rounded window treatments above the door and windows are also Gothic style They are called tracery windows. The heavy stone surround of the door and stone crowns over the windows are a tribute to the predominant building material of medieval times.

Walking a few steps south we can take a look at the southern side of the building.

The challenge for medieval masons was to have large windows in the walls and yet keep them strong enough to support the massive weight above. They solved the problem by using external buttresses. Here we see prominent brick pediments rising at the corners and between the windows symbolizing external buttresses. Those angled limestone blocks at intervals along the pediments show the direction of the support -- up and in.

Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources SHAARD database (State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database)

https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/print.html?printType=countySurvey