ttuchris Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 I went for a walk last night and stumbled across St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 1505 Kane St. The priest was locking up, but generously invited me in for a tour. Very interesting history. This is the second oldest Catholic Church in Houston. The current building was completed in 1901 after the original was destroyed in the 1900 hurricane. There is some very beautiful brick work and stained glass. Father Victor explained the church had a major fire in 1995. I was only able to find one article about the fire. He mentioned the bell tower collapsed in the fire and the new metal bell tower next to the church was built as a replacement. Does anyone have any pictures of the church before the fire? https://www.houstonpress.com/news/restoration-man-6570958 I wish I would have taken pictures, but there is also this very interesting cactus sculpture/water fountain on Trinity St. Seems like something for Atlas Obscura. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Interesting. I had not idea buildings in Houston had been destroyed by the 1900 hurricane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttuchris Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 I am surprised by that too. The devastation was so bad in Galveston, you don't hear about the other communities affected. I grew up in Rosenberg and always heard how Richmond and Rosenberg were completely leveled by the storm. It was a category 4 storm that went right over those cities. Houston would have been on the dirty side of the storm. The historical marker references the storm. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMVD60_St_Josephs_Catholic_Church Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Old sixth Ward isn’t so run down anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FilioScotia Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 You're right. That old neigborhood bordered by Houston Ave., Washington Ave., Sawyer and Memorial has some very beautiful old homes. Take a drive through some time. Gentrification has been going on there for some time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 My mother grew up in the sixth ward and went to St. Joseph School. My parents were married there, and it's where I was baptized. I have pictures of the inside that were taken at their wedding in June of 1947. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 On 4/2/2020 at 2:12 PM, FilioScotia said: You're right. That old neighborhood bordered by Houston Ave., Washington Ave., Sawyer and Memorial has some very beautiful old homes. Take a drive through some time. Gentrification has been going on there for some time now. Gentrification yes' but fortunately not a lot of tear-downs to be replaced by McMansions. Thankfully, most of the lots are too small for that. Almost 30 years ago I drew some plans for the renovation of twin shot gun houses on Decatur Street. This was a project by the then Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (now Preservation Houston). I believe each was sold to a young professional who probably worked nearby. It is good to see so much of the original fabric of the neighborhood being adapted and preserved to the extent that it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowBend56 Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 In the 1970s I would occasionally attend the mariachi mass at St. Joseph's. They had singers (and musicians) who could belt out the songs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.