St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa)

United States historic place

Significant dates

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Davenport Register of Historic Properties No. 31

St. Joseph Church in 2013
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Location	West Sixth and Marquette Streets Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates	41°31′33.09″N 90°35′25.76″W / 41.5258583°N 90.5904889°W / 41.5258583; -90.5904889
Area	less than one acre
Built	1881
Architect	Victor Huot
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
MPS	Davenport MRA
NRHP reference No.	83002510
DRHP No.	31
Added to NRHP	July 7, 1983
Designated DRHP	September 1, 1999

St. Joseph Catholic Church is a former Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. Its former parish church is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The church and the rectory were listed together on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999. After serving as the location of a Reformed Baptist congregation and a private elementary school named Marquette Academy, the parish property now houses an evangelical Christian ministry named One Eighty.

History

St. Joseph Parish

St. Joseph Parish was originally established as St. Kunigunda's in 1855 in the Diocese of Dubuque. It was named for St. Kunigunda, and served the German immigrants who settled in the western part of the city. Judge C.G.R. Mitchell donated the property for the church. A stone building was dedicated May 25, 1856 by the parish's pastor Father Flammang, who conducted the services in Latin and German. He was succeeded in 1857 by Rev. John Baumgarten who stayed for a year, and then the parish was without a pastor for six months. The Rt. Rev. Msgr. Anton Niermann became the pastor on April 2, 1859. Rev. Frank Kottenstette was named assistant pastor in 1900. He was followed by the Revs. Albers P. Stahl, P. Herbst, J. Snyder, and B. Kueppenbender. Msgr. Niermann was succeeded as pastor by the Rev. N.J. Peiffer in 1905.

As the parish continued to grow it was decided to build a new church. The cornerstone was laid in 1881, the same year as the Diocese of Davenport was established. It was at this time that the parish name was changed to St. Joseph, probably because if its proximity to St. Mary's Church which was built two blocks to the west in 1867. The new church was dedicated on September 16, 1883. The former church building was converted into a school. It is possible that this building was converted into the convent and continues to stand, radically modified, behind the church. St. Joseph School was served by the School Sisters of St. Francis from Milwaukee.

Significant changes occurred starting in the 1960s. The ethnic makeup of the neighborhood around St. Joseph changed. The original German immigrant community was gone and the people who replaced them were largely not Catholic. Changes were made in the liturgy to accommodate the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The liturgies were now celebrated in English. The communion rail was removed and a new altar, which allowed the priest to face the congregation, was put in place. The old altars and statues, however, remained in the church. By the 1970s sizeable numbers of Mexican Americans began moving into the area, and a liturgy in Spanish was added. The Spanish speaking community stayed until the late 1980s when they moved to St. Mary's.

Post-St. Joseph's

The school continued until 1968 when it was merged with St. Mary's School and renamed Holy Trinity. The merger lasted into the 1990s when St. Mary's ended its participation. Because of declining numbers, the diocese decided to close the school in 1999. An independent group of people bought the school that year and it reopened as Holy Trinity Mission School. A few years later it was renamed Marquette Academy. The parish, which never had defined territorial boundaries because it was established as a German ethnic parish, continued to decline in numbers and it was also closed in 1999. The building became a part of Holy Trinity Mission School. In 2008 the church and rectory were purchased by a non-denominational congregation and it became Legacy Church. The church later became Grace Fellowship Church, a Reformed Baptist congregation. The One Eighty ministry acquired the entire St. Joseph Parish property in 2016 as their headquarters. The ministry serves people on the margins in a variety of programs.

Architecture

Davenport architect Victor Huot designed St. Joseph's in the High Victorian Gothic style. Huot had previously designed St. Mary's Church.

The building is a Basilica-plan church with its main entrance at the base of the gable-end tower. It is constructed in brick on a stone foundation. The decorative brickwork, especially the corbel table at the eaves, is one of its most distinguished features. Its verticality is achieved by way of the exaggerated pendant corbelling and the tall, pointed-arch windows. The windows on the main facade, along the side walls and in the apse are all paired lancet windows that are filled with stained glass. There is also a tracery rose window in the tower. The tower itself features a tall, slender spire that rises above sharply-drawn gables on the bell-chamber.

References

"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ Historic Preservation Commission. "Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks". City of Davenport. Retrieved 2023-03-21. (Click on "Historic Preservation Commission" and then click on "Davenport Register of Historic Properties and Local Landmarks.")
^ "Chapter 20: Churches and Parishes". Scott County Iowa USGenWeb Project. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
Svendsen, Marlys A.; Bowers, Martha H. (1982). Davenport where the Mississippi runs west: A Survey of Davenport History & Architecture. Davenport, Iowa: City of Davenport. p. 11.1.
^ Martha Bowers; Marlys Svendsen-Roesler. "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: St. Joseph's Catholic Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-03-19. with photo
Tamara Fudge (April 6, 2009). "Marquette Academy celebrates 10-year anniversary". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
Mary Louise Speer (April 26, 2008). "New church moves into St. Joseph's building". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
Alma Gaul (August 6, 2016). "Fast-growing group buys inner-city property for ministry". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved 2016-08-07.

External links

Media related to Saint Joseph Church (Davenport, Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Historic places of worship in Davenport, Iowa
National Register of Historic Places Davenport Register of Historic Properties	St. Anthony's Catholic Church St. Joseph's Church
National Register of Historic Places	Bethel AME Church First Baptist Church First Bible Missionary Church First Church of Christ, Scientist First Presbyterian Church Sacred Heart Cathedral St. John's United Methodist Church St. Mary's Catholic Church St. Paul Lutheran Church Swedish Baptist Church Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Davenport Register of Historic Properties National Register of Historic Places listings in Davenport, Iowa

v t e Davenport Register of Historic Properties
Davenport Register of Historic Properties National Register of Historic Places	E. P. Adler House Miles Collins House Davenport Bag and Paper Company Building Davenport City Hall Dillon Memorial First Federal and Savings and Loan Association Germania Miller/Standard Hotel Hamburg Historic District Hillside Hose Station No. 1 Iowa Reform Building Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home Jackson School/School No. 6 Antoine LeClaire House The Linograph Company Building John Littig House Marycrest College Campus Mississippi Hotel Oakdale Cemetery Octagon House Old St. Luke's Hospital J.H.C. Petersen's Sons Building W.D. Petersen Memorial Music Pavilion Renwick Building Riverview—Abner Davison Homestead Saengerfest Halle St. Anthony's Church Square St. Joseph's Church & Rectory Dr. Kuno Struck House Taylor School
Davenport Register of Historic Properties Historic District contributing properties	Anken Flats Frank & John Bredow House Peter Bruchmann House Davenport Public Library-Edward Durell Stone Building Henry Deutsch House Hose Station No. 4 House at 821 Ripley St. Indian Springs Park Christian Jipp Home & Grocery Lambrite–Iles–Petersen House Lindsay Park Henry Lischer House Dr. Heinrich Matthey House J. Monroe Parker-Ficke House Prospect Park Charles F. Ranzow and Sons Building Riverview Terrace Soldier's Monument Vander Veer Park Woeber Carriage Works
Davenport Register of Historic Properties	Claim House Credit Island Decker French House Johnson School Mother Goose Municipal Inn Schuetzen Park Street Car Pavilion
see also:National Register of Historic Places listings in Davenport, Iowa

v t e German-Americans in Scott County, Iowa
People	Henry Rohlman Nicholas J. Rusch Henry Vollmer
Commerce	Frick's Tavern Germania-Miller/Standard Hotel Iowa Reform Building Nicholas J. Kuhnen House Henry Lischer House Littig Brothers/Mengel & Klindt/Eagle Brewery Mueller Lumber Company Northwest Davenport Savings Bank Jacob Raphael Building Walsh Flats/Langworth Building Washington Gardens Werthman Grocery Zoller Bros-Independent Malting Co.
Religion	St. Joseph's Catholic Church St. Paul Lutheran Church Temple Emanuel
Social	Saengerfest Halle Davenport Crematorium Eldridge Turn-Halle Hauschild's Hall Northwest Davenport Turner Society Hall Schuetzen Park
Historic Districts	Hamburg Historic District West Third Street Historic District

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport
Bishops	Ordinaries John McMullen Henry Cosgrove James J. Davis Henry P. Rohlman Ralph L. Hayes Gerald F. O’Keefe William E. Franklin Martin J. Amos Thomas R. Zinkula Dennis G. Walsh Auxiliary Edward Howard
Churches	List List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral Parishes Church of St. John the Baptist, Burlington St. Paul's Church, Burlington St. Anthony’s Church, Davenport Holy Family Parish, Fort Madison St. Patrick's Church, Georgetown St. Mary’s Church, Iowa City St. Patrick's Church, Iowa City Church of All Saints, Keokuk St. Mary's Church, Nichols St. Mary of the Visitation Church, Ottumwa St. Mary's Church, Riverside Former parishes St. Joseph's Church, Bauer Saints Peter and Paul Church, Clear Creek St. Boniface Church, Clinton St. Irenaeus Church, Clinton St. Joseph's Church, Davenport St. Mary’s Church, Davenport St. Joseph's Church, Fort Madison St. Michael's Church, Holbrook Saints Peter and Paul Church, Solon
Education	Higher education St. Ambrose University High schools Assumption High School, Davenport Holy Trinity Catholic Schools (HS), Fort Madison Notre Dame High School, Burlington Prince of Peace Preparatory, Clinton Regina High School, Iowa City Former Aquinas Schools, Fort Madison Cardinal Stritch High School, Keokuk Immaculate Conception Academy, Davenport Marquette Catholic Schools (HS), West Point Marycrest College St. Mary’s Academy
Priests	William Lawrence Adrian John George Alleman Ambrose Burke Edward Catich William J. Collins Martin Cone Maurice John Dingman John Flannagan Robert Dwayne Gruss William Hannon Ulrich Hauber Cletus Madsen Carl Meinberg Sebastian Menke Marvin Mottet J. A. M. Pelamourgues Aloysius Schulte William Shannahan Lawrence Donald Soens
Miscellany	Ambrose Hall Henry Kahl House Antoine LeClaire House F.H. Miller House Regina Coeli Monastery Mount Calvary Cemetery, Davenport St. Joseph Hospital, Ottumwa Old St. Mary's Rectory, Iowa City St. Thomas More Parish Center Pacem in Terris Award Selma Schricker House
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