{"nrhp_refnum":"73002225","name":"St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"631 N. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Roanoke (Independent City)","county":"Roanoke (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.27819281400008,"lon":-79.94115695199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian Gothic Roman Catholic church at 631 N. Jefferson Street in Roanoke, Virginia, built of buff pressed brick and dedicated in 1902 on St. Andrew's Hill.","why_significant":"The nomination ranks it as one of the largest and finest examples of High Victorian Gothic in Virginia, with a distinctly French character and scholarly design influenced by Pugin and Ruskin. It is described as the city's richest and most conspicuous architectural landmark, dominating the downtown skyline. It also reflects the growth of Roanoke's Catholic community after the railroad arrived.","narrative":"Rising above downtown Roanoke on St. Andrew's Hill, this Roman Catholic church was built in a French-inspired Victorian Gothic style. Its cruciform plan includes a narthex, an aisleless nave, transepts and a seven-sided apse, with twin spires flanking the western facade. Buff pressed brick covers the walls, and the roof is slate. Inside, ribbed vaults end in gilded pendants, stained glass supplies nearly all the light, and polychrome painting and gold leaf decorate the walls. Catholics were late to organize in the area; Father John W. Lynch said the first Mass in a railroad passenger coach in 1882. A small brick church followed on land donated by a developer. The present building, designed by William P. Ginther of Akron, Ohio, was begun in December 1900 and dedicated on November 25, 1902, at a cost above $100,000, mostly paid by the congregation. It is regarded as one of Virginia's finest High Victorian Gothic buildings.","period_of_significance":"20th Century","architect_builder":"William P. Ginther of Akron, Ohio (architect)","architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic (High Victorian Gothic), drawing on French flamboyant Gothic sources","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered; occupied and in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.977064-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/25/6833/41683325/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002225.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002225/629b2570d4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002225/629b2570d4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Patriarca12","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Andrew%27s_Roman_Catholic_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Patriarca12</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:St._Andrew%27s_Roman_Catholic_Church.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"05001276","name":"Gainsboro Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/gainsboro-historic-district-05001276/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683325","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St._Andrew_(Roanoke,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15694149"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/roanoke/st-andrews-roman-catholic-church-73002225/"}