My son and daughter-in-law were married at this church and
it’s in their honor that I’m placing this cache. It is
a camoed micro. I would suggest daytime caching only. Please use
discretion in searching for this cache if there is event going on
and parking lot is full. Otherwise you should be able to park very
close to this one.
St. Patrick's Church and St. Patrick's on St.
Patrick's Day
History of Saint Patrick’s
St. Patrick's Church, Bridge Avenue, was founded July 2, 1853,
the year before Ohio City (a separate community on the West Side of
the Cuyahoga River) merged with the City of Cleveland. Parishioners
began building a brick Church on Whitman Avenue. By September,
students were enrolled in the school, the Ursuline Community's
first parish foundation. The Ursuline presence continues today at
the parish with Urban Community School, born of the merger in
August of 1968 of St. Patrick and St. Malachi Schools. Mass was
offered for the first time in the Church on Christmas Day,
1853.
The first church was soon too small for the growing
congregation. A site for the new structure was purchased on Bridge
Avenue. The architect was Alfred Green and the style was Gothic
Revival. The material was Sandusky blue limestone. In the fall of
1870, ground was broken and the corner stone was set in place on
August 21, 1871. A friend of the parish who owned a quarry in
Sandusky offered the stone to the community if they could cut it
and haul it to Cleveland themselves. Parishioners were divided into
teams. One group would leave after Mass on Sunday, staying
overnight at an inn in Lorain. They would continue to Sandusky,
quarrying stone till the weekend. Saturday morning they would
return to the parish and unload the wagon. Meanwhile, another group
would cut and place the stone. The trips to Sandusky were repeated
weekly for a two year period. The church was occupied on May 1,
1873. The stone tower was completed in 1903. A chime of eleven
bells, the largest collection on the west side was installed in
1899. Interestingly, the church roof is 93 feet above the
floor.
Records show that initially worship took place in an unfinished
structure. The interior was completed fully in 1881. Improvements
were added, including steam heating, installation of clear glazed
windows, pews, confessionals, statues, and gas light fixtures. By
January 1, 1889, the church was completed and debt free. In 1893,
more improvements were made and the sanctuary was remodeled. In
1897, a new set of decorative stained glass windows were purchased,
and a water powered organ. In 1901-1902, the stone tower was
finished, and the church was lighted by electrical fixtures. Before
1913, the church was eight bays long and a flat wall terminated the
sanctuary. Enlargement of the church in that year consisted in the
extending of the nave by an additional bay and the addition of a
polygonal apse surrounding the main altar. The apse was flanked by
shed roof additions covering the side altars and a one story
ambulatory-like enclosure for the sacristies. On St. Patrick's Day,
March 17, 1932, St. Patrick's Church, Bridge Avenue, was
consecrated. The community predates the Civil War, lived through
the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean and Vietnam
war of this century. In 1941, St. Mary Church was closed and the
parishioners from St. Mary's became part of the St. Patrick
Community. Some four years later, the spiritual care of St.
Patrick's was entrusted to the priests of the Society of Jesus who
would direct its growth until 1980.
In the 1980's, the Parish undertook the task of restoration and
preservation of St. Patrick Church. Among the projects completed
projects are: replacement of the roof, repair of the stained glass
windows and placing protective covering over them, re-plastering
and repainting of the interior, restoration of the pipe organ
restored, renovation of the choir loft, electrifying of the church
bells and lighting of the tower.
St. Patrick's, Bridge, Mother Church of the Irish Catholic
Community of Cleveland, is the site where the United Irish
Societies of Cleveland installed a plaque commemorating the
contribution of the Irish Immigrant to the building of the city and
nation.