{"nrhp_refnum":"76001670","name":"St. Augustine's Catholic Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4th and New Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.955535663000035,"lon":-75.14654689599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Roman Catholic church at Fourth and New Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a two-story brick building with a square tower and domed octagonal belfry. The present church was built in 1847 on the ruins of an earlier church burned in 1844.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is significant for its association with the 1844 anti-Catholic riots, in which the original St. Augustine's was destroyed by nativist mobs, and for its architecture. The present building is described as an important architectural monument in its section of Philadelphia.","narrative":"Brick Roman Catholic church at Fourth and New Streets in Philadelphia, built in 1847 on the ruins of the first St. Augustine's Church, which was burned by a mob on May 8, 1844, during anti-Catholic and anti-Irish disorders in the city. The first church, begun in 1796 and completed in 1801, had been the largest in Philadelphia. Napoleon LeBrun designed the replacement, a two-story building with a projecting center bay and a square tower that was completed in 1867 to a design by Edwin F. Durang. The interior contains a marble sanctuary installed in the 1920s, carved galleries, and a religious art collection, including a central painting of St. Augustine in Glory by Philip Costaggini. The church is regarded as an important architectural monument in its section of the city and as a key site of the 1844 riots, which were tied to nativist opposition to Irish and German Catholic immigrants.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799, 1800-1899","architect_builder":"Napoleon LeBrun (architect); Edwin F. Durang (tower, 1867); Nicholas Fitz Maurice Fagan (original church, 1796-1801)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival elements; Georgian; late Federal (as stated in the form)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Good condition; interior renovations in the 1890s and entrance lowered in 1924; the clock and bell tower were removed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.305835-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001670.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001670/0d9a812398-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001670/0d9a812398-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack E. Boucher, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StAugustineRCChurchPhiladelphia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack E. Boucher, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StAugustineRCChurchPhiladelphia.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000683","name":"Independence National Historical Park","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/independence-national-historical-park-66000683/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997090","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Augustine_Church_(Philadelphia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2317407"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/st-augustines-catholic-church-76001670/"}