St. Michael's Church Complex - Baltimore MD - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Also known as St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY: St. Michael's Church and the religious community formed by its buildings is associated with the significant waves of German Catholic immigrants that settled in East Baltimore during the mid-19th century and the Redemptorists who took charge of these German Catholics as part of their mission here in Baltimore.

As a religious missionary order, the Redemptorists made considerable contributions to the education and assimilation of German Catholic immigrants who produced necessary labor for the railroads and assisted in the industrial transition of Baltimore during the second half of the 19th century. The Redemptorists used the School Sisters of Notre Dame as their educators in their parochial schools, which at one time had one of the largest enrollments in Baltimore.

Finally, the longevity of St. Michael's Church as a Redemptorist church designates it as the oldest continuously operating Redemptorist Catholic church in Baltimore possessing the largest extant, completely intact Redemptorist complex remaining in the city.

Michael's Church is a late 19th century Romanesque Revival, rectangular shaped, attached structure surrounded by six related secondary buildings and one small outbuilding with construction dates ranging from 1857-1860, 1870-1874, 1884, 1900 and circa 1896-1914.

These buildings make up the community at St. Michael's in the Washington Hill section of East Baltimore. This complex occupies 1.5 acres and is bounded (roughly) by E. Lombard Street to the south, s. Chapel Street on -the east, E. Baltimore Street on the north and Durham Street to the west.

The cornerstone of St. Michael's was laid August 2, 1857, and the church was completed and opened on December 26, 1859. In the spring of 1861 a 180 foot tower and steeple surmounted by a gilt cross was constructed over the existing sacristy at the rear of the church and a small bell hung in the tower.

Yet after a few years the tower began to deteriorate and was in serious danger of falling down. In 1866 it was decided to remove the tower and it was not replaced for 23 years.

Street address: 1900 East Lombard Street Baltimore, MD USA 21231 County / Borough / Parish: Baltimore (Independent City) Year listed: 1989 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899, 1850-1874 Historic function: Recreation And Culture, Religion Current function: Commerce/Trade, Recreation And Culture, Religion Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/14/2021 Don.Morfe visited it