Frieze Art @ St. Dominic Church - Philadelphia, PA - Frieze Art on Waymarking.com

The frieze art is a little more three dimensional than than the average frieze. One of the designs looks like a fleur de lis and the others look like abstract weeds growing over one another. They are made of gray stone and 10 to 20 feet off the ground, depending on which one you are viewing.

St. Dominic Church in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia was established in 1849 through the efforts of Archbishop Francis P. Kenrick, Father John Dominic Berrill, O.P., and a relatively small community of Catholics. Before the first cornerstone of the church building was laid, Mass was held in a “little stone house in the fields.” Thanks to Father Berrill’s untiring solicitation of building funds and the generosity of Catholics and non-Catholics, the new church was completed. (source listed below)

The church were rebuilt in 1896. In 1896, the church was completely destroyed by fire. Reconstruction began almost immediately and by September 13, 1896 a new cornerstone was laid by Archbishop Patrick J. Ryan. The spire/benchmark station is topped by a gold cross. The spire is on the north side of Frankford Avenue adn the belfry and tower are at the southeast corner. The spire is octagonal with a grey slate tiles/roofing.

I saw the spire 3/4 mile away as I drove up the hill to the church. The steeple is the tallest thing in Holmesburg. Parking is across the street, in the parking shoulder, Philly style. There is also parking in a nearby shopping center across and down the street a few hundred feet.

The cemetery and its 2,300 grave stones are laid out with military precision, with perfect rows and columns. The stones are all similar, plain, with the minimal amount of memorialism erected for each interment.