{"nrhp_refnum":"76002032","name":"St. Joseph's Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2202 Ave. K","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galveston","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.299544755000056,"lon":-94.79071519399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Joseph's Church is a small wood-frame Gothic Revival church at 2202 Avenue K (also given as 2201 Avenue K) in Galveston, Texas, dedicated in April 1860 and designed and built by Joseph Bleicke.","why_significant":"It is the oldest remaining example in Galveston of the simple wooden ecclesiastical style. It recalls the city's role as the main port of entry for German immigrants in the 19th century. Its painted, coffered wood ceiling is unique in Galveston and rare in Texas. It also housed the city's first parochial high school, which operated from 1876 to 1926.","narrative":"St. Joseph's Church is a modest wood-frame building at Avenue K and 22nd Street in Galveston, one block from Broadway. Built for the city's German-speaking Catholics, it was commissioned in 1859 at the recommendation of Bishop J. M. Odin and dedicated in April 1860 after a cost of $4,000. Architect Joseph Bleicke gave it a rectangular plan, pointed windows and doors, and a central square tower with a trefoil window. Inside, a coffered ceiling is painted with trefoils, quatrefoils and other Gothic motifs in muted colors, and the original cedar pews have painted graining. It is the oldest surviving example in Galveston of the simple wooden church style. The parish also ran the city's first parochial high school from 1876 to 1926. The Diocese closed the church in 1968 and its contents were auctioned, but the Galveston Historical Foundation recovered most of the furnishings and restored the building. It now operates as a museum and event space.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Joseph Bleicke (spelled Jospeh Bleicke and Joseph Bleike in parts of the form); architect and builder","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival (simple wooden ecclesiastical style; Early Gothic Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed as a church by the Diocese in 1968, then restored by the Galveston Historical Foundation. It now serves as a museum, open periodically and used for special events, including an occasional church service.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.415102-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/9691/40969197/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/76002032.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002032/22cf6d3bc9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002032/22cf6d3bc9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Nsaum75 at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Joseph_German_Catholic_Church_Galveston.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nsaum75 at en.wikipedia</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._Joseph_German_Catholic_Church_Galveston.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969197","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph%27s_Church_(Galveston,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7589107"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/st-josephs-church-76002032/"}