Sunday, September 23, 2007

This May Be Unique

This yellowed newspaper clipping, from the December 8, 1923 issue of the Blade, may be the only surviving picture of architect Joseph C. Huber's plan for Immaculate Conception, in the Old South End. Huber substantially modified Edward O. Fallis' original design, following the fire.
Now, personally, I wish this plan had been completed. However, we have to remember the fact that the parish had just gotten out from under the burden of debt from building the place, then had to pay for major rebuilding. The parishioners made serious sacrifices to fund the work. Back then, people didn't have so many vital expenses, like latte at Starbucks and daily lottery tickets, to deal with, so they were more willing to build good churches.
However, due to cost considerations, most of the decorative stonework and the top story of the towers were dispensed with. They still produced a magnificent church, but with a few less of the expensive extras.

2 comments:

ShariYS said...

It looked alot like that one in Massillon! Same architech, by any chance?

Jeffrey Smith said...

Oh, no. The differences are lessened by the quality of the picture. This one would have been brick with stone accents. The basic form is a stock pattern, almost an archetype.