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Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Infancy

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1886, Edwin Forrest Durang. 312 E. 4th St.
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)
  • (William E. Fischer, Jr.)

Although the Irish parish was founded in the 1860s, the church dates from 1886. It was designed by the chief architect for the Philadelphia diocese. The large Latin cross–plan, Victorian Gothic structure is built of Trenton sandstone and includes stepped buttresses along the length of the nave and a soaring spire centered on the entrance that rises just over 196 feet to the top of the cross. The facade features towers at the ends of the side aisles flanking the familiar triple-arched entrance. Unusually, the church does not have a rose window on the gable end, instead a tall lancet window lights the nave. At each side aisle tower, four smaller lancet windows are located atop the lower entrance arch. A striking white altar retable is the interior's most distinguished feature.

Writing Credits

Author: 
George E. Thomas
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Data

What's Nearby

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Citation

George E. Thomas, "Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Infancy", [Bethlehem, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-02-NO39.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 2

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, George E. Thomas, with Patricia Likos Ricci, Richard J. Webster, Lawrence M. Newman, Robert Janosov, and Bruce Thomas. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012, 284-284.

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