{"nrhp_refnum":"72001089","name":"St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church","other_names":["21st and Smallman Street Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"21st and Smallman Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.45241229000004,"lon":-79.98334458799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-09-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["European","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque Roman Catholic church of brick with sandstone trim, built 1891-1892 on a lot at 21st and Smallman Streets in a commercial produce district of downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County. It is the mother church of Polish parishes in western and central Pennsylvania.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is significant as the first Polish Roman Catholic parish in Pittsburgh, founded in 1875, and as a place that served Polish immigrants in their assimilation into American life. Its wooden interior with imported German stained glass and frescoes by a Polish immigrant artist is described as especially elaborate. The building also provides visual relief in a largely commercial district.","narrative":"Built between 1891 and 1892 at 21st and Smallman Streets in downtown Pittsburgh, St. Stanislaus Kostka is a brick Romanesque church with sandstone trim, two front towers and a large rose window above the entrance. It was designed by Fred C. Sauer and dedicated in 1892. The parish was founded in 1875 in a former Presbyterian church and became the first Polish Roman Catholic parish in Pittsburgh. Its interior is largely wood, with stained glass imported from Germany and frescoes and paintings by a Polish immigrant depicting Polish history, the Battle of Grunwald and Polish-born saints. The church was built to serve Polish immigrants and help them settle into American culture. It is also valued as a visual counterpoint in a district that is otherwise almost entirely commercial, and as a symbol of the many nationalities that lived and worked together in the city.","period_of_significance":"1892","architect_builder":"Fred C. Sauer (architect)","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Recently the original timber bonnets of the twin towers were replaced with aluminum ones; church membership has dwindled to under 70 families, though early morning and Sunday masses are well attended.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.773705-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001089.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001089/497ba79dca-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001089/497ba79dca-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Jim.henderson","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanislaus_Kostka_noon_jeh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim.henderson</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanislaus_Kostka_noon_jeh.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"14000194","name":"Strip Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/strip-historic-district-14000194/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997768","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stanislaus_Kostka_Church_(Pittsburgh)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591709"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/st-stanislaus-kostka-roman-catholic-church-72001089/"}