Clearly this was built as a Protestant church, but the Orthodox congregation has been here for quite some time now. Here we see the west front in the warm rays of the evening sun.
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Holy Assumption of St. Mary Orthodox Church, South Side
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Splendidly Victorian
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Front Door on Sarah Street
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Composition with Utility Cables
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Victorian House on South 18th Street
This is the kind of eclectic mess twentieth-century architects meant when they vigorously condemned everything “Victorian.” You can hardly pin it down to any historical style. That would probably identify it as “Queen Anne,” the term for Victorian domestic architecture that is a hodgepodge of every historical style, with strange angles thrown in for added picturesque effect. And to those twentieth-century architects, old Pa Pitt has only this to say: this house is a lot more attractive and a lot more pleasant to live in than anything you came up with.
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St. Casimir’s, South Side
In a crowded neighborhood with narrow streets, getting a picture of a large church like this is almost impossible without resorting to computer trickery. Fortunately old Pa Pitt has never been above computer trickery, and this is actually a composite of two photographs. The seams are nearly invisible, but if you look closely, you may notice the same pedestrian appearing twice at different points on the sidewalk.
Like many Catholic churches in the city, this one is no longer a worship site. Protestant churches can straggle on for decades with a dozen people showing up on Sunday, but the top-down organization of the Catholic Church makes it almost inevitable that decisions will be made on the basis of efficiency. St. Casimir’s, like the school formerly attached to it, is now condominium apartments.
Below, the distinctive towers, one of which is missing a column.
Addendum: The architect was Marius Rousseau; the church was finished in 1902. Source: “New Church Almost Ready,” Post, June 8, 1902. “St. Casimir’s Roman Catholic Church, which is being built at South Twenty-second and Sarah streets, at a cost of $70,000, will be dedicated June 22. The stone and brick building is a handsome one of Renaissance style of architecture designed by Architect Marius Rousseau. The pews will be placed in the main auditorium this week. Rev. Father John Sutkartis is pastor.”
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Polithania State Bank
If you look up the word “Polithania” in your favorite search engine, you will find this building and nothing else. It was a bank and land office for Polish and Lithuanian immigrants (Poland and Lithuania have a long history of interconnection). Now it cleans teeth, but the original signs are still over the doors.
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Front Door on Sarah Street
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Defying the Storm
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It Used to Be a Store, Part 3
