Baltimore Churches |
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Name: |
St. James the Less Church (AKA St. James Roman Catholic Church) |
| Address: | 1225 Eager St. & Aisquith St. |
| Standing? Yes | Year: 1865 |
| St James the Less Roman Catholic Church is an 1865-67 High Victorian Gothic influenced brick structure with Romanesque Revival overtones, a tall central tower rising out of the façade or west elevation, and an ornate interior with marble sculpture and murals. The façade of the church has round-arched recessed panels with round-arched windows and pointed bichromal surrounds created by alternating stone and brick treatment, and miniature round-arched corbelling under the eaves of the roof and in the façade of the tower. The exterior is built of brick, with all-stretcher bond on the front façade, and common bond on the sides. The steeple, at 256 feet, is one of the tallest church towers in the city. The significance of St. James the Less is derived from several sources. As a building designed in the High Victorian Gothic style with Romanesque Revival overtones, the church is an example of a type of architecture that was commonly used in Baltimore in the second half of the 19th century for church structures. This church is an unusual example in that it is constructed of brick rather than the more commonly used stone, particularly for buildings of similar size and lavish treatment. The structure achieves additional significance as one of George A. Frederick earliest works. The craftsmanship of the period is apparent in the detailing of the construction of the building itself as well as in the stained glass windows from the studios of Josef Mayer in New York and Germany; three large interior murals painted about 1886 by the German-born artist William Lamprecht; and marble sculpture work by the Baltimore sculptor Joseph Martin Didusch. The parish wаs dissolved around 1986, аnd the former St. James Church wаs sold tо аn evangelical church. Mоst regrettably, the church has been stripped оf іts windows, altars, marble communion rail, pipe organ, аnd оther artifacts, аnd the church has been whitewashed, destroying іts beautiful аnd historic murals. To view an article regarding laying of the St. James cornerstone that was published in The Sun on October 23, 1865, click here. |
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