Category: Crafton

  • St. Philip’s Church, Crafton

    St. Philip’s Church

    Designed by the Akron architect William P. Ginther, St. Philip’s presides over a prominent spot in the middle of Crafton, and its lofty spire can be seen from all over the borough.

    St. Philip’s Church

    Mr. Ginther’s other works in our area are Immaculate Heart of Mary, Polish Hill, and St. Mary’s in McKees Rocks. His churches are concentrated in eastern Ohio, but he designed several others in Pennsylvania and New York and even as far away as California. On one of his other sites, Father Pitt has pictures of St. Bernard’s Church in downtown Akron and St. Joseph’s Church in St. Joseph, Ohio.

    West Front entrance
    West front
    Pinnacles
    Side entrance
    Side entrance
    Tower
    St. Philip’s Church
    Rectory
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

    The rectory, with its stone below and brick above, makes a good transition between the church and the school next door, and we would not be surprised if A. F. Link, architect of the school, designed it for exactly that purpose.


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  • St. Philip’s School, Crafton

    St. Philip’s School, Craftonm

    Designed by Albert F. Link, the original part of St. Philip’s School was built in 1914–19151 to look like a fairy-tale castle. The steep hillside site was probably an inspiration: anything built here would look a bit like a medieval fortress, so why not go all the way?

    Tower
    Tower
    Statue
    St. Philip’s School
    St. Philip’s School
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.
    1. Source: The Construction Record, December 19, 1914. “Architect A. F. Link, N. Craig street, has plans for the superstructure of a two-story brick parochial school building for St. Phillips [sic] Roman Catholic Congregation to be built at a cost of $60,000. Foundation work has been completed.” ↩︎
  • Crafton High School

    Crafton Elementary School

    Still in use, with modern additions, as Crafton Elementary School, this Jacobean palace was built in 1913. The architect was Press C. Dowler, already well into a career that would last another half-century. His assignment here seems to have been to make up in spectacle for what the little borough’s high school lacked in size, and he came through with the goods, festooning the building with crenellations and terra-cotta ornamentation. But although the decoration may be a bit extravagant, it is done with good taste, making a balanced composition outlined by the sharp contrast between the red brick and the white trim.

    Entrance tower

    The original school had two identical entrances—probably, as was common in those days, one for boys and one for girls.

    Former entrance
    Reliefs
    Shield
    Battlements
    Entrance tower
    Crafton High School
    Crafton High School
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.