The authoritative source on
  early churches of New Jersey

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We've created a database and photographic inventory on more than half the 18th & 19th century churches in the state and add to it each month. We welcome and solicit all contributions and suggestions from our visitors.

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St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church
Newark, Essex County

St. Michael's sits on Belleville Avenue, a mile or so north of the center of the city, and was erected in 1878, the same year it was organized, to serve a largely Italian population in the area. The congregation later merged with the Hispanic congregation of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
      The church was designed by Jeremiah O'Rourke, a Newark archictect and a leading designer of Catholic churches in the later decades of the nineteenth century. The polychrome window molds, a blend of Gothic and Romanesque, provides an exotic touch; O'Rourke made use of something similar for a post office building in Kansas City when he was the Supervising Architect for the U.S. Treasury, and for St. Mary's church in Plainfield. He may also have designed St. mary's in South Amboy, which shares many features with St. Michaels.

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Copyright (c) 2001 Frank L. Greenagel