{"nrhp_refnum":"12000599","name":"St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church Complex","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"58-15 Catalpa Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Queens","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.70414889400007,"lon":-73.90207387199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Roman Catholic church complex at 58-15 Catalpa Avenue in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, New York City. It has four buildings (church, rectory, school and convent), all designed by architect Francis J. Berlenbach, Jr.; the first building dates to 1909 and the church to 1926.","why_significant":"The complex is presented as architecturally congruous with the surrounding Ridgewood district and as significant in telling the story of Ridgewood's history and development. The Italian Renaissance Revival church grew out of the congregation's expansion alongside the neighborhood's population, which became a large German-American community. The excerpt provided does not include the full statement of significance.","narrative":"This Roman Catholic complex on Catalpa Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, includes a church, rectory, school and convent, all designed by architect Francis J. Berlenbach, Jr. and built of pale yellow or amber brick. The first building, erected in 1909, combined church and school functions and now serves as the school. As the congregation grew with the surrounding neighborhood, the larger church was completed in 1926 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. Its buff brick front has a three-bay narthex with Corinthian detailing and a three-stage tower with a carillon, clock and copper cupola. Inside, a Latin cross plan holds a barrel-vaulted nave, scagliola columns, marble altars and stained glass made by the Franz Mayer Studios in Munich. The contractors Adam and Henry Schlachter donated one window. The complex sits across from the Central Ridgewood Historic District and is considered consistent with that district's character and significant to the story of Ridgewood's development, a neighborhood long home to a large German-American community.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect Francis J. Berlenbach, Jr.; contractors Adam and Henry Schlachter (built the church)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals / Italian Renaissance Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Church, rectory, school and convent remain in religious use; the 1909 building is currently used as the school, and the church tower was restored in 2005-2006.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.702289-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000599.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000599/cf1caf504c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000599/cf1caf504c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"ALT55 - Victor M","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIDGEWOOD-GLENDALE-FRESH_POND_173.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">ALT55 - Victor M</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RIDGEWOOD-GLENDALE-FRESH_POND_173.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75314468","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Matthias_Roman_Catholic_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22329605"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/st-matthias-roman-catholic-church-complex-12000599/"}