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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2. St. Adalbert Church Complex - National Register Nomination NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name: _St. Adalbert Church (Roman Catholic)______________ Other names/site number: ______________________________________ Name of related multiple property listing: ___________________________________________________________ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Location Street & number: _2505 W Grace St.____________________________________________ City or town: _South Bend_ State: IN________ County: _St. Joseph____ Not For Publication: Vicinity: ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property ___ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: ___national ___statewide ___local Applicable National Register Criteria: ___A ___B ___C ___D Signature of certifying official/Title: Date Indiana DNR-Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 1-6 page 2 In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: Public – Local Public – State Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District Site X X United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 1-6 page 3 Structure Object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _4___________ __3__________ buildings _____________ _____________ sites _____________ _____________ structures _2____________ _____________ objects _6___________ __3___________ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register _________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) RELIGION: religious facility RELIGION: church school RELIGION: church related residence ___________________ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) RELIGION: religious facility RELIGION: church school RELIGION: church related residence ___________________ United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 4 _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) LATE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS: Italian Renaissance Revival LATE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS: Late Gothic Revival MODERN MOVEMENT ___________________ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) foundation: _STONE: Limestone_______ walls: _BRICK_________________ _METAL: Aluminum______ STONE: Limestone_______ roof: _SYNTHETICS___________ other: ________________________ ________________________ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph The St. Adalbert Church Complex comprises four buildings and two objects constructed from 1910 to 1963: St. Adalbert School (1909-11), Parish Rectory (1914-15), St. Adalbert Church (1923-26), Felician Convent (1963), and monuments to World War I and II (1919, 1951). The buildings reflect Polish migrants’ transformation of rural life into socio-religious complexes that responded to industrial capitalism in the urban Midwest. From the elegant arches and brick quoins of the Italian Renaissance Revival school to the towering gothic vaults of the cathedral- size Late Gothic Revival church, the St. Adalbert Complex is architecturally diverse and rich in religious art. With only minimal alteration, the St. Adalbert Church Complex is in excellent condition and exemplary of Polish American religious architecture. _____________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 5 St. Adalbert School (formerly Church-School), 1910-11, Italian Renaissance Revival Gault & Gault, architects. Desiring a Polish church for South Bend's expanding West Side, over 500 families supported the construction of the first St. Adalbert Church School building in 1909. Constructed in vitrified red brick and three stories tall, the church-school-convent measured 174' long by 63' wide. Costing $65,000, the working-class parishioners contributed not only meager savings, but also labor to keep costs low. The founding pastor, Rev. John F. Kubacki (1868-1951) oversaw construction, serving as the "contractor and manager." In accord with the Second Council of Baltimore's decree that all Roman Catholic parishes must sponsor religious schools, St. Adalbert was built as a combination church, school, and convent. The first floor, currently a cafeteria and social hall, was originally a church and could seat 900. The Moller organ from the original church is currently in a reconfigured installation in the present church. The school utilized the building’s second and third stories, with classrooms around a central hall and staircases and each end. At the west end of the building, a 1911 addition provided space for a convent for the Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi (CSSF), popularly known as the Felicians, who came from the order’s motherhouse in Detroit to teach at the school. The church-school combination, however, was not intended to be permanent. It was a temporary arrangement that served educational and religious functions until the community could afford a proper church, at which point the original church could be incorporated into the school as a cafeteria or hall. The combination of educational, religious, and domestic functions led The South Bend Tribune to declare the first St. Adalbert as "unique" in its architecture style, and more similar to a "business block" than to a High Gothic church. While the rear of the building, with rows of large arched windows does bear a resemblance to factory architecture, the symmetrical tripartite façade with a side gable is striking. Two parapets flank a protruding central tower with brick quoins. The cornerstone is at the left foot of the central tower. Referencing the educational role of the building, Mark 10:14 is inscribed in the cornerstone in Polish and English: "Suffer the little children to come unto me." The main entrance portal, in Indiana limestone, is composed of jamb columns under a large central arch and archivolts. Shields with the church logo are under flanking entrance pilasters with simplified Doric capitals and a cornice extending to the tower's brick quoins. Above, engaged hexagonal columns demarcate each side of the arch. Over the keystone is a limestone square. Brick bands extend across the first story façade, topped with a limestone cornice that extends across the entire façade. Central brick arches run from the second to third stories. On the central tower, a limestone keystone caps the arch. The four corners of the engaged pilasters have undecorated limestone capitals and bases. Above the third story, the central tower extends, with two arches above the keystone. A smaller belltower with a steeple and cross marks the highest point of the façade. Bells were installed in the tower in 1912 and blessed by Bishop Józef Weber, C.R.. Engaged brick corbels support a limestone cornice. Four small brick towers rise above each quoin. The lateral façades are supported by buttresses and have three rows of arches. The first and second story windows have segmental brick arches and the third story windows have semi- United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 6 circular arches. Beneath the limestone and brick cornice and the first story windows, brick bands run the length of the sides. The far west-end of the structure, which served as the Felician Convent, was demolished in 1974. A small addition with a kitchen was added in 1980. St. Adalbert Rectory, 1914-15, Italian Renaissance Revival Likely Gault & Gault, architects. The second structure of the complex, the unusually large rectory of St. Adalbert Church was built in 1914-15 following construction of the church-school as a residence for priests. The three- story Renaissance revival structure bears a strong resemblance to the church-school and may have been designed by the same architects, Gault & Gault, based in Terre Haute. However, newspaper articles also note the contribution of Rev. Kubacki who oversaw construction of both buildings and may have contributed to the design. To reduce costs, materials were recycled from the demolished Methodist Episcopal Church on Main and Jefferson Streets, including columns and common brick used on the interior. The exterior is vitrified red brick with limestone trim. The main façade faces north to Huron Street and is richly decorated. The façade is symmetrically arranged with a central entrance porch supported by four columns and four pilasters. Atop the porch is a balcony with a brick pediment featuring a limestone shield and cross. Cornices, column and pilaster capitals and bases are all in limestone. The basement level is excavated with a row of windows. The masonry is in running bond, with a row of soldiers punctuated by limestone pieces at the corners. Another layer of running bond is between a rowlock course underneath a limestone cornice. The first story is composed of brick bands with a large limestone cornice running across the façade above the windows. Three rowlock courses frame the second story windows with large limestone keystones. The second and third stories are united by banded brick quoins and banded brick pilasters on both sides of the porch. A single rowlock course is above the third story windows with limestone blocks at the upper corners of each. In the center, three simplified Corinthian columns frame two windows with limestone semicircular arches and corbels. Two courses of brick dentils compose the eaves. A rowlock course stretches underneath the limestone cornice. Above, a central voluted parapet with an episcopal shield and cross surmounts the façade with limestone trim. The east façade has three irregular parts. At north, a single set of windows with decoration mirroring the front façade. The central part is a three-story bay window. The first floor has a single stained-glass window of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, underneath a segmental arch with a row of headers. A row of soldiers from the segmental arch continues across the façade, with limestone blocks at the corners. The second story is identical to the first, but without a segmental arch and stained-glass window. The third story has two windows with decorative limestone and dentils above. The southern segment of the façade is a large porch supported by four simplified Doric columns with limestone capitals and bases. To the side of the porch is a small staircase and entrance portal with brick dentil eaves. The second and third story balconies are decorated with square and rectangular insets. The west façade mirrors the south façade, but does not have a porch. The south façade is undecorated, with limestone cornices at the second and third stories and four corner windows. The southwest corner of the porch is a chimney that extends beyond the roofline. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 7 The largely original interior features woodwork, chandeliers, tiles, and multiple stained-glass windows. Like the interior decoration of the church, church societies sponsored stained glass windows in the rectory. The children of St. Adalbert School donated a stained-glass window of the Last Supper in 1917, the Society of the Holy Virgin of the Rosary a heraldic shield of the 1863 Polish Uprising with the inscription “Boże Zbaw Polskę” or “God Save Poland,” and the Society of St. John Chrysostom a cross with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Adalbert Church, 1923-26, Late Gothic Revival Worthmann & Steinbach, architects. Constructed from 1923-1926 and designed by the Chicago-based firm Worthmann & Steinbach, largely by J.G. Steinbach, St. Adalbert Church is a brick masonry, late gothic revival church in the "Polish Cathedral" style. At its dedication, Bishop of Fort Wayne John F. Noll proclaimed it the "most beautiful" church in the diocese and noted its costliness. At almost $250,000, the cost of the church was four times greater than the original church-school. Following a cruciform plan, the church has a central nave with two side aisles. The church is notable for its 150’ tall twin steeples, the city's tallest. Structural steel and iron were erected by the Cerny Pickas Company for $19,400 and original lighting (since replaced) by the Rambusch Decorating Company from New York for $4,000. The impressive front façade faces east with a limestone entry that has three arches and castellated parapet. A limestone crucifix flanked by two angels crowns the entrance, with finials on both sides. In the central arch’s jambs are pointed trefoil arches with niches. The outer archivolts feature modillions. Beneath the plaster tympanums are stained glass transom windows with gothic designs. Plaster artwork decorates each of the tympanums. At center, St. Michael the Archangel slays the devil, at either side are symbols of Christ, at north the Lamb of God, and at south a pelican piercing its own breast to feed its young. The side arches have modified Corinthian pilasters. The three center stained-glass windows echo the design of the entrance portal, with a large central arched panel and two smaller arched panels to the sides. The center glass has a large limestone cornice with pinnacles on either side, the small arches have a rowlock arch and limestone cornice above. To the far side of each pinnacle are two blind limestone gothic arches. At center is a stepped parapet with limestone cross and gothic niche. There are two large bell towers with steeples. A small course of five brick arches runs parallel with the entrance portal between limestone cornices. Small arched stained-glass windows formed a triangular composition with the larger central arches. Parallel with the central parapet are pointed arches with two courses of rowlocks with limestone lintels and a central limestone cross. Beneath the lintels are arrow slit windows. The north bell tower has three original bells. Abutments were added to support the towers in 1951-52 during reconstruction owing to damage and faulty construction of the original structure, costing $80,000. A gothic fleche surmounts the crossing. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 8 The church follows a gothic basilica plan (length: 180', width 100', height 75') with a vaulted nave and two side aisles. Each side aisle has four pointed arches. The aisles have four groin vaults. Modillions with angel faces support the ribs on the outer walls. There are four lancet stained-glass windows with decorative plasterwork in each aisle. In the nave spandrels, plasterwork winged angels hold a communion chalice and wafer. The triforium has quatrefoil plasterwork and niches with saint statues above each pointed arch. The interior ceiling has elaborate rib vaulting, with a spectacular stellar vault over the crossing. Above the crossing, a flèche rises to 110'. Between each vault is elaborate plasterwork in a pointed floral shape. The plasterwork throughout the church was executed by Meech, Arnold & Meech of St. Joseph, MI. The east end has a lower choir loft and upper organ loft. The organ loft railing is richly decorated with five niches filled with saint statues. Stained glass windows were added to the church in several stages as money was fundraised. The sanctuary clerestory windows are of the Seven Sacraments by Columbia Stained Glass Company in Milwaukee, WI. Although a contract was signed with Arthur Michaudel, Stained Glass Studio in Chicago, IL for 12 aisle lancet windows, 18 clerestory windows, 2 transept windows, 8 choir loft windows, and 1 large choir window for $20,108 in 1941, the glass was not installed until 1945-46 due to World War II. The clerestory stained-glass windows feature saints, while the massive north and south transept windows depict the Wedding of Cana and Christ Blessing Little Children, respectively. In 1947, an additional 4 tower windows were purchased from Michaudel Studios for $1,400. The final windows added were new versions of the original Seven Sacrament windows in the sanctuary by Michaudel Studios in 1948 at a cost of $4,200. The elaborate gothic main altar from the Chicago-based Bernhard Ferring Company features an anonymous painting of the Martyrdom of St. Adalbert. In front of the altarpiece, an icon of Poland’s national patroness Our Lady of Częstochowa can be raised and lowered with a pulley mechanism. In niches are statues of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr (north) and St. John the Evangelist (south). Statues of angels flank a central niche beneath the altarpiece. All other canvas paintings in the church are by the Czech-born, Chicago-based artist John Mallin, well-known for his work in Chicago Polish churches. Rev. Aloysius Jarka commissioned 10 paintings from Mallin in 1940. Each transept has a large canvas painting by John Mallin, Labor Mural in the north and Holy Family with Sts. Zechariah, Anne, and John the Baptist, after Raphael in the south. In the sanctuary, there are six paintings by Mallin, from north to south: St. John Cantius after Tadeusz Żukotyński, St. Hedwig of Silesia, St. Casimir, St. Hyacinth, Immaculate Conception after Murillo, and Apparition of St. Andrew Bobola to Fr. Korzeniecki. At the east end of each aisle are paintings by John Mallin, on the north side Apparition of the Virgin to St. Stanislaus Kostka and the south side, Baptism of Christ, both from 1940. In 1950, the interior of the church was decorated by the John Kirsch Company of Milwaukee for $24,000. Felician Convent, 1962-64, Mid-Century Modern Gaul & Voosen, architects. The 1911 convent that was attached to the original church-school building was razed in 1974 after the completion of a new convent and chapel for the Felician Sisters. The structure was designed by Gaul & Voosen, a noted religious architecture firm, and cost $200,000. The convent United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 7 page 9 is the only building in the complex not constructed with vitrified red brick. It is composed of two attached rectangular plans with open gables, the two-story main convent and single-story smaller chapel to the east. The convent is 111’x36’ and the chapel 20’x40’. The convent design looked to contemporary architecture and bears a strong resemblance to mid-century residential apartment design in Chicago. The main entrance to the south is in a wall of glass and aluminum windows, with a band of aqua panels in the middle. To the west, a stairwell with windows clad in stacked stone veneer and decorated with a floating aluminum cross. To the east, two rows of four windows are part of a limestone bands, surrounded by orange/tan brick in common bond. The connected chapel has five rectangular windows that run almost from the floor to ceiling. The interior of the chapel is painted light blue with a curved sanctuary. The modernist wooden altar sits on a floating travertine rail on a raised tile sanctuary area. The opposite wall has the Stations of the Cross displayed in an amorphous gold stenciled pattern clustered together. Christ Arbiter of Civilization (World War I Monument), 1919 Following the end of World War I and the establishment of the Second Polish Republic, Rev. Kubacki commissioned a monument on the corner of Oliver and Huron Streets to commemorate the end of hostilities and his Silver Jubilee in the priesthood. A Carrara marble statue of Christ after Bertel Thorvaldsen’s famous Christus stands in front of a Vermont granite cross inscribed “Jesus Christ Arbiter of Civilization.” A brick pedestal bears a granite plaque with Matthew 11:28 and John 14:6: “Come to me all ye that labor and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you. / I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In 1932, the hands of Christ were broken off and damaged by an unknown vandal and subsequently replaced. In 1985, the statue suffered more severe damage when it was toppled. During repair by sculptor Todd Villeneuve new hands were created for the sculpture. World War II Monument, 1950 A statue of St. Michael the Archangel commemorates the 24 men from St. Adalbert Parish who lost their lives in World War II. The pedestal reads: “Here we enshrine forever the glorious memory of St. Adalbert’s fallen heroes who fought for freedom and democracy in World War II.” The memorial cost $5,000 and was constructed with donations from the parish. The monument was built by Miller Monuments, Inc. of Elkhart, IN. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 10 _________________________________________________________________ 8. Statement of Significance Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. C. Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. D. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Criteria Considerations (Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.) A. Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes B. Removed from its original location C. A birthplace or grave D. A cemetery E. A reconstructed building, object, or structure F. A commemorative property G. Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years X X X United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 11 Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions.) ARCHITECTURE____ ETHNIC HERITAGE: European SOCIAL HISTORY__ ___________________ Period of Significance 1905-1964__________ ___________________ ___________________ Significant Dates _1911,_1926____ _1963______________ ___________________ Significant Person (last name, first name) (Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.) _ Kubacki, Rev. John__ ___________________ ___________________ Cultural Affiliation _ Polish American____ ___________________ ___________________ Architect/Builder (last name, first name) _Gault & Gault, architects _Worthmann & Steinbach, architects _Gaul & Voosen, architects Period of Significance (justification) For a half century from 1910-1965, the St. Adalbert Church Complex was a leading center for Polish socio-cultural life in Indiana. The architectural styles from Renaissance Revival to Mid- century Modern correspond to the entirety of this period, reflecting the evolving economic status of the parish and new approaches to religious design. The significant dates are 1911, when the first church school was dedicated, 1926 for the completion of the church, and 1963 for the Felician convent. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 12 Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) St. Adalbert Church is an active Roman Catholic parish committed to preserving and promoting its immigrant culture and heritage. The rich architectural and working-class history of the site merits consideration for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any applicable criteria considerations.) As the largest and best-preserved Polish religious complex in the state of Indiana, rivaled only by St. Stanislaus in Michigan City, St. Adalbert Church Complex is an extraordinary monument to ethnic, working-class, and religious history. With four significant buildings constructed across a half century in a variety of architectural styles, St. Adalbert is a testament to immigrant progress and evolutions in religious design. Especially notable, is the exuberant St. Adalbert Church, designed by Worthmann & Steinbach, which boasts the tallest steeples in South Bend and is an exemplary representative of the Polish Cathedral style of architecture. Beyond the built environment, St. Adalbert Church Complex is associated with highly significant historical people and events: transatlantic Polish migration, the foundation of the Abstinence League of Polish Priests by Rev. John Kubacki in 1913, and union organization by its parishioners during the Great Depression as evinced in its remarkable Labor Mural by John Mallin from 1940. Over the course of its history, St. Adalbert attracted key figures in Polish and American society such as the Rt. Rev. Paul Rhode and General Józef Haller. The vision and sacrifice of Polish migrants to South Bend, St. Adalbert remains a center of diasporic life in South Bend with current migration from Latin America. ______________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.) ETHNIC HERITAGE Polish working-class immigrants organized St. Adalbert Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church (Koscioł Św. Wojciecha B.M.). in 1905 in the "Krakówo" neighborhood on South Bend's West Side. The district's namesake city, Krakow, reflected immigrant origins in the Austrian partition during a period when Poland was divided between the imperial powers of Prussia, Austria, and Russia. The last and largest of the city's four Polish parishes, construction of the St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church Complex continued over seventy years, creating an open-air museum of Midwestern religious architecture from the Polish Cathedral Style to Mid-Century Modern. The complex includes four buildings: St. Adalbert School (1909-11), Parish Rectory (1914-15), St. Adalbert Church (1923-26), and Felician Convent (1963), as well as monuments to World War I and II (1919, 1951). For over a half century, St. Adalbert was the leading center United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 13 of Polish culture in South Bend, driving social movements and attracting high profile visitors. Today, St. Adalbert continues to serve first generation immigrants, mostly from Mexico, and honors its Polish and Mexican cultures as an educational, religious, and social space for the community. Due to a rapidly increasing Polish immigration, parishioners at St. Hedwig Church, supported by Rev. Valentine Czyżewski (the founding pastor of South Bend Polonia and first Polish American Holy Cross priest), began making plans for a new parish in 1905, establishing the St. Adalbert Society to formally pursue the goal of constructing a new church on the west side of South Bend, closer to Singer, Oliver, Studebaker, and other manufacturers. In anticipation of an expanding Polish neighborhood, the founding parishioners named the area Krakówo after the eponymous Polish city. The West Side was then part of the Kankakee swamp and less desirable than the “Bogdarka” and “Złote Gore” neighborhoods, respectively meaning “God’s Gift” and “Golden Hills,” where earlier Polish immigrants settled. Quickly, the site for the church was soon surrounded by workers’ houses. Embracing a Polish American identity, the parish was officially founded on July 4, 1910, five years after the St. Adalbert Society first started organizing for a new church. In line with the Second Council of Baltimore’s decree that all Catholic parishes must sponsor religious schools, St. Adalbert was built as a church-school, with classrooms structured around a large central hall. The first and then only Polish American bishop, Rev. Paul Rhode, traveled to South Bend in 1910 to bless the church's cornerstone and again the next year for its opening. Officially recognized as a parish on July 4, 1910, the date recognized a hybrid Polish American identity. The opening of the church attracted 10,000 people to listen to Bishop Rhode and see the new building. In the following decade, St. Adalbert's continued to grow rapidly, quickly requiring additional space. In 1923, construction began on the present Gothic church, designed by Worthmann & Steinbach architects. At its opening in 1926, Bishop Noll declared it, "the most beautiful and most costly church in the diocese of Fort Wayne," an especially impressive feat considering the low wages earned by Poles in the factories of South Bend. The arrival of Bendix in the 1920s, spurred further growth to the city's west and increased jobs in the burgeoning automotive and aviation sectors. By 1937, the church had over 6,000 parishioners and was the largest in South Bend. Dozens of church societies provided members with social and religious camaraderie and raised funds to decorate the interior of the church. When the new church was completed, its interior was largely unfinished, with the only painting a single altarpiece depicting the martyrdom of St. Adalbert. Over the following decades, virtually every surface of the church, including the sanctuary, windows, niches, and altars would be decorated with paintings, stained glass, statues, and devotional imagery. ARCHITECTURE Polish immigrants to the United States constructed grandiose churches in the "Polish Cathedral style," characterized by multifunctional urban complexes of exuberant baroque, renaissance, and gothic revival architecture that reflected how the Catholic church absorbed and adapted the emigrants' traditional village lifeworld (okolica) to an industrial capitalist society. In Indiana, St. Adalbert is the most ambitious and best-preserved example of this architectural style and socio- cultural world. Fulfilling the functions of a convent, school, bank, library, social hall, church, and rectory, St. Adalbert was not just a center for religion, but for all Polish community life in United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 14 Krakówo. The fourth major Polish Roman Catholic parish in South Bend, St. Adalbert was constructed at the height of the pre-Depression economy when the majority working-class population could afford to collectively invest in a monumental church that not only served religious functions, but also commemorated Polish progress in America. For the new church, St. Adalbert Parish hired the leading Chicago religious architects Worthmann & Steinbach to design a church in the Gothic style. With steeples over 100 feet, St. Adalbert is the tallest and largest church in South Bend. A testament to the exuberance of Polish religion and culture, St. Adalbert represents the high aspirations of working-class Polish immigrants to transmit their culture in the United States, despite great adversity. By the time that church construction was completed, St. Adalbert was the crowning achievement of Indiana’s largest Polish population. The diversity of architectural styles present at St. Adalbert heightens the value of the complex, providing an open-air museum of immigrant and Midwestern architecture. Since its founding, St. Adalbert has remained faithful to the mission of serving the needs of first- and second-generation immigrants, in the process, remarkably preserving a complete religious complex with little alteration. As white-flight and suburbanization led to the closure and full or partial demolition of many Polish churches, St. Adalbert has survived intact. The complex demonstrates the transition from frugal immigrant beginnings in a combination church-school to a monumental cathedral- sized church, and developments in Catholic thought and religious design in the postwar period in the Mid-Century Modern Felician Convent. SOCIAL HISTORY For over a half century, St. Adalbert remained a rich center of Polish culture and politics. As the largest church in the city with Indiana’s largest Polish population, St. Adalbert attracted high profile visitors from the United States and Poland and organized multiple campaigns to support Polish war relief efforts. The first Polish bishop in the United States, Rt. Rev. Paul Rhode, traveled to South Bend to dedicate the cornerstone and again for the completed church. For the community, Rhode was more than a bishop, he was the head of the entire Polish church in the United States. Poles fought for decades within the Roman Catholic Church for równouprawnienie, or equality of rights, meaning equal representation respective to population in the church hierarchy which was then controlled by German and Irish bishops. The founding pastor of St. Adalbert, Rev. John Kubacki is a significant historical figure for his involvement with the temperance movement. Rev. Kubacki founded the national organization, the Abstinence League of Polish Priests at St. Adalbert in 1913 and traveled across Indiana and the country to preach against alcohol consumption. As most Polish Americans were strongly against the temperance movement due to the cultural role of alcohol, the Abstinence League of Polish Priests was an important example of how Polish priests absorbed and responded to the temperance movement and the influence of alcohol on social issues. Supported by the St. John the Evangelist Society, a men’s group that supported the temperance movement at St. Adalbert, Rev. Kubacki crusaded against alcohol and the saloons that characterized life in industrial South Bend. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Section 8 page 15 St. Adalbert is closely associated with South Bend's industrial past, and in particular, the labor movement. Before the Flint Sit-Down strike of 1937, parishioners from St. Adalbert participated in the Bendix sit-down strike in November 1936, which was the first successful strike at a in the automotive industry and helped to usher in the way for mass-unionization of the automobile industry. The connection between St. Adalbert and mass unionization is commemorated in a 1940 mural by Chicago artist Jan Mallin in the church's north transept. Depicting men and women laborers under a vision of the fallen Christ, the mural bears a message from Genesis 3:19: "W pocie oblicza twego będziesz pożywał chleba," or "By the sweat of your brow, you shall eat bread." Instructed by a priest in Roman collar toward Christ and a smoky factory above a river, a woman in peasant dress and man in overalls cast down a hammer and sickle. Developmental History/Additional historic context information Two buildings are no longer extant on the site. The 1911 Felician Convent that was an addition to the church-school was demolished in 1974, and sheet metal currently covers the west end of the school. In 1931, a wooden parish hall/auditorium was built at St. Adalbert, its humble materials reflected the Depression economy. The structure was damaged extensively in a 1972 fire and demolished. The three non-contributing buildings are two garages and a boiler house, for which date of construction and architect are unclear. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 16 ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Major Bibliographical References Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.) Historia Parafii Św. Wojciecha BM w South Bend : Srebrny Jubileusz Parafii Św. Wojciecha BM 1910-1935. South Bend, IN: St. Adalbert Parish, 1935. Kennealy, Erin. “There Is Nothing Too Good for God : The Life and Work of John Anton Mallin.” MA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2012. Krzywkowski, Leo Vincent. “The Origin of the Polish National Catholic Church of St. Joseph County, Indiana.” Ball State University, 1972. Moulton, Gavin. “From Church to Factory: Polish Catholicism and Collective Action in South Bend.” Unpublished seminar paper. December 10, 2022. Our Sunday Visitor. “Costly Church at South Bend Dedicated Today.” April 25, 1926. Pacyga, Dominic A. “Polish American Studies and the Study of Labor and the Working Class.” Polish American Studies 77, no. 1 (2020): 14–20. Pamiętnik Srebrnego Jubileuszu Kaplaństwa Wielebnego Księdza Alojzego P. Jarki. South Bend, IN: St. Adalbert Parish, 1940. Program Pamiątkowy Poświęcenia Nowego Kościoła Św. Wojciecha B. i M. w South Bend, Ind. St. Adalbert Parish, 1926. Radziłowski, John. “Rev. Wincenty Barzyński and a Polish Catholic Response to Industrial Capitalism.” Polish American Studies 58, no. 2 (Autumn 2001): 23–32. Renkiewicz, Frank. “The Polish Settlement of St. Joseph County, Indiana: 1855-1935.” PhD, University of Notre Dame, 1967. Stabrowski, Donald. Holy Cross and the South Bend Polonia, Preliminary Studies in the History of the Congregation of Holy Cross in America 6 (Notre Dame, Ind.: Indiana Province Archives Center, 1991) Strabrowski, Donald. Rev. Valentine Czyzewski, C.S.C., Immigrant Pastor. Wilkes Barre, PA: Conference on the History of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 1985. “St. Adalbert Church Ledger,” 1910. St. Adalbert Church Records. “St. Adalbert Parish Report,” 1940. Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Archives. Swastek, Rev. Joseph. “The Polish Settlement in South Bend, Indiana, 1868-1914.” MA Thesis, University of Notre Dame, 1941. The American Contractor. “Church & School,” May 21, 1910. The Richmond Palladium. “Rev. Father Kubacki Divides Catholics Into Two Classes.” March 19, 1914. The South Bend News-Times. “Liquor Fight in South Bend to Start Sunday.” August 19, 1914. The South Bend News-Times. “St. Adalbert’s Membership Reaches 6,000 in 27 Years,” March 13, 1932. The South Bend Tribune. “Complete Plans for Dedication,” August 22, 1911. The South Bend Tribune. “New Polish Church Ready for Opening,” August 29, 1911. The South Bend Tribune. “St. Adalbert’s Church to Be Redecorated,” June 6, 1940. The South Bend Tribune. “St. Adelbert’s Church Is Formally Dedicated,” April 26, 1926. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 17 ___________________________________________________________________________ Previous documentation on file (NPS): ____ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested ____ previously listed in the National Register ____ previously determined eligible by the National Register ____ designated a National Historic Landmark ____ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________ ____ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________ ____ recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________ Primary location of additional data: ____ State Historic Preservation Office ____ Other State agency ____ Federal agency ____ Local government ____ University ____ Other Name of repository: _____________________________________ Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): 201-598-19060; 201-598-19065; 201-598-19066 ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property _2.30 acres______________ Use the UTM system UTM References Datum (indicated on USGS map): NAD 1927 or NAD 1983 X United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 18 1. Zone: 16 Easting: 559600 Northing: 4613355 2. Zone: Easting: Northing: 3. Zone: Easting: Northing: 4. Zone: Easting : Northing: Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.) The property forms a sideways L-shape. To the east and south the property is bordered by S Olive St and W Grace St respectively. To the north, Huron street where it follows the dividing alley first south and then west. An alley (between S Olive and S Meade Sts) marks the remaining boundary to the west. Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.) The boundaries correspond to historic footprint of the complex and is currently owned and used by St. Adalbert Parish. _____________________________________________________________________________ 11. Form Prepared By name/title: Gavin Moulton organization: St. Adalbert Parish street & number: Dept of History, 434 Decio Hall city or town: Notre Dame state: IN zip code: 46556 e-mail: gavinmoulton1@gmail.com telephone: (910) 691-4016 date: February 13, 2023 ___________________________________________________________________________ United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 19 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: • Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location. • Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Key all photographs to this map. • Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.) Photographs Submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 3000x2000 at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger. Key all photographs to the sketch map. Each photograph must be numbered and that number must correspond to the photograph number on the photo log. For simplicity, the name of the photographer, photo date, etc. may be listed once on the photograph log and doesn’t need to be labeled on every photograph. Photo Log Name of Property: St. Adalbert Church Complex City or Vicinity: South Bend County: St. Joseph State: IN Photographer: Gavin Moulton Date Photographed: May 23, 2022; June 14, 2022; January 16, 2023. January 22, 2023. Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera: 0001: St. Adalbert Church, view of façade from Olive St., looking west, 01/16/2023. 0002: St. Adalbert Church, lateral view from Huron St., looking south, 01/16/2023. 0003: St. Adalbert Church, lateral view from St. Adalbert School roof, looking north, 06/14/2022. 0004: St. Adalbert Church, view of west end from central parking lot, looking northeast, 06/14/2022. 0005: St . Adalbert School, view of façade from Olive St., looking east, 01/16/2023. 0006: St. Adalbert School, lateral view from Grace St., looking north, 01/16/2023. 0007: St. Adalbert School, view of cornerstone inscribed “SZKOŁA ŚW. WOJCIECHA” United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 20 “DOPUŚĆCIE DZIATKOM ISC DO MNIE” “MAR. X 14,” or “St. Adalbert School” “Let the children come to me” “Mark 10:14,” from the entrance ramp, looking east, 01/16/2023. 0008: St. Adalbert School, lateral view from central lawn, looking south, 06/14/2022. 0009: St. Adalbert School, view of east end from central parking lot, looking east, 06/14/2022. 0010: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of façade from Huron St., looking south, 01/16/2023. 0011: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of east façade from interior sidewalk, looking northwest, 06/14/2022. 0012: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of south and east façade from St. Adalbert school roof, looking northwest, 06/14/2022. 0013: Felician Convent/Parish Office, view of façade from Grace St., looking north, 01/16/2023. 0014: Felician Convent/Parish Office, view of east façade from St. Adalbert School roof looking west, 06/14/2022. 0015: Christ Arbiter of Civilization Monument, view from intersection of Oliver and Hurons Sts., looking southwest, 01/16/2023. 0016: World War II Monument, view from Huron St., looking west, 01/16/2023. 0017: St. Adalbert Church, view of nave from organ loft, looking west, 05/23/2022. 0018: St. Adalbert Church, view of nave vaulting looking west from sanctuary, 05/23/2022. 0019: St. Adalbert Church, view of stellar vault looking vertically from crossing, 01/16/2023. 0020: St. Adalbert Church, view of John Mallin’s Labor Mural in the north transept from transept pews looking north, 05/23/2022. 0021: St. Adalbert Church, view of north side aisle with John Mallin’s Apparition of the Virgin to St. Stanislaus Kostka, from north transept looking east, 05/23/2022. 0022: St. Adalbert Church, view of north steeple interior looking upward, 05/23/2022. 0023: St. Adalbert Church, view of church bells in north steeple interior from northeast corner, looking southwest, 05/23/2022. 0024: St. Adalbert School, stained glass of “Let the Little Children Come to Me” over parish hall interior entrance, inscribed “TAKOWYCH JEST KRÓLESTWO NIEBIESKIE” “OFIARA DZIECI SZKOLNYCH”, or “For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14) and “Schoolchildren’s offering.” Looking southeast from the interior entrance, 01/22/2023. 0025: St. Adalbert School, view of parish hall with American flag and Polish eagle from the central hall looking north, 01/22/2023. 0026: St. Adalbert School, view of northwest staircase from second floor landing looking north, 05/23/2022. 0027: St. Adalbert School, view of typical classroom from southwest corner looking northeast, 05/23/2022. 0028: St. Adalbert School, view of library from southwest corner looking northeast, 05/23/2022. 0029: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of parlor from northeast corner looking southwest with United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 St. Adalbert Church Complex St. Joseph, IN Name of Property County and State Sections 9-end page 21 stained glass of the Last Supper, 01/22/2023. 0030: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of corridor from parlor entrance looking north, 01/22/2023. 0031: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of sitting room with Sacred Heart of Jesus stained glass from east door looking west, 01/22/2023. 0032: St. Adalbert Rectory, detail of Sacred Heart of Jesus stained glass from sitting room looking west, 01/22/2023. 0033: St. Adalbert Rectory, view of room from east entrance looking northwest, 01/22/2023. 0034: St. Adalbert Rectory, stained glass with crest of 1863 uprising inscribed “BOŻE ZBAW POLSKĘ” or “God Save Poland.” From the center room looking west, 01/22/2023. 0035: Felician Convent/Parish Office, view of sanctuary from nave, looking north, 05/23/2022. 0036: Felician Convent/Parish Office, view of Stations of the Cross from east pews, looking west, 05/23/2022. 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