{"nrhp_refnum":"77001052","name":"St. Stephen Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1930 W. 54th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cleveland","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.47893152800003,"lon":-81.72411154899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Stephen Church is a Gothic-style Catholic church at 1930 West 54th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, with construction beginning in 1873 and the tower completed in 1905, designed by Cudell & Richardson.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as the oldest standing German church in Cleveland, built for German Catholic immigrants and altered relatively little from its original design. It is described as one of Cudell and Richardson's best religious buildings. Its wood carving, statuary and stained glass are cited as among the finest in the area.","narrative":"St. Stephen Church is a Gothic-style Catholic church on Cleveland's west side, built for the city's German immigrant community. Its cornerstone was laid in September 1873, the roof was finished in 1875, and the 140-foot tower was completed in 1905. Cudell & Richardson designed the Latin-cross building, which measures 165 by 75 feet and is faced in Amherst stone. The interior is known for oak baldachins, a free-standing carved pulpit with canopy, and wooden statues made largely in Munich, each with German features. Stained glass includes a window showing the Baptism of King Windukind, and German saints fill the niches. A tornado on June 8, 1953, tore off part of the sanctuary roof and destroyed the apse windows, though many other windows were restored. The nomination calls it the oldest standing German church in Cleveland, with few changes from its original design, and one of the architects' finest religious works.","period_of_significance":"1875-1893","architect_builder":"Cudell & Richardson","architectural_style":"Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; the roof was replaced and apse windows lost after a 1953 tornado.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.255853-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/77001052.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001052/15d44ba1cc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001052/15d44ba1cc-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Stephen_Church,_west_side_Cleveland.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Stephen_Church,_west_side_Cleveland.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987520","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Catholic_Church_(Cleveland)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7591790"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/st-stephen-church-77001052/"}