Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church

While on the near east side of Cleveland today I had the opportunity to take some pictures of this beautiful church.

From the church website:

In 1882, Father Anton Hynek purchased property for a new parish in "Little Bohemia" at the corner of Hamm Avenue and Randolph Street. The first pastor was Father Stephen Furdek. In April, 1883, Our Lady of Lourdes parish celebrated the dedication of its church and the opening of its school administered by the Sisters of Notre Dame. A large number of new immigrants settled in the area, leading the community to break ground for a new church in the spring of 1891, dedicated in 1893 and completed in 1902 at the cost of $65,000.00.

The Church building was designed by architects Emile Uhlrich and J. Vandervelde. The brick structure trimmed in stone contains details typical of the Victorian Gothic style, such as the tripartite entrance with double points, large rose window and wall buttresses. More unique features include the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes above the rose window, the oculus windows on the south tower, and the clock beneath the steeple on the north tower.

In 1915, the large stained glass windows were purchased from a firm in Munich, Germany. Because of the disruption caused by World War I their delivery was delayed until 1920. In 1916, the parish obtained its new pipe organ and electric lighting was installed. In 1961, the replica of the Lourdes shrine in France on the northeast corner of the church.