{"nrhp_refnum":"78000726","name":"St. Helena Catholic Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Oak and Tainter Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"St. Helena","county":"Napa County","state":"CA","lat":38.50360301200004,"lon":-122.47021761599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone Catholic parish church at the northwest corner of Oak and Tainter Streets in St. Helena, Napa County, California, built 1889-1890 in the style of an English Medieval parish church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that stone building was the characteristic early architecture of the Napa Valley, and that this church is the best surviving example of a stone church and the only entirely stone church left in the county. It has been a local landmark since completion, and the community broadly supported its recent restoration.","narrative":"St. Helena Catholic Church stands at the northwest corner of Oak and Tainter Streets and is designed like an English Medieval parish church, with a front tower and an attached nave without transepts. The tower is Perpendicular Gothic with crenellations, the windows are tall lancets, and the roof is open timber in a Jacobean manner. The land was donated in 1865, and a wood church that earlier occupied the site burned before 1889. The present local stone building was constructed under Father Renatus Becker, who served as both architect and contractor, at a cost of $9,000. A 1945 fire gutted the interior but spared the original stained glass; the restoration lengthened the tower, enlarged the narthex, added sacristies and seven buttresses, using matching stone. The nomination values it as the best remaining stone church in Napa County and the only entirely stone one, reflecting the valley's stone-building tradition and community regard.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Father Renatus Becker (architect and contractor); 1945 restoration by architect Martin Rist","architectural_style":"English Medieval parish church style with Perpendicular Gothic tower and Jacobean open timber roof","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition and occupied, in religious use; the form notes a 1970s reconditioning of the exterior stonework.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.003632-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/78000726.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000726/c3f96a69ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78000726/c3f96a69ea-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Helena_Catholic_Church,_Oak_and_Tainter_Sts.,_St._Helena,_CA_10-16-2011_12-54-19_PM.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</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._Helena_Catholic_Church,_Oak_and_Tainter_Sts.,_St._Helena,_CA_10-16-2011_12-54-19_PM.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860096","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Helena_Catholic_Church_(St._Helena,_California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588309"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/napa-county/st-helena-catholic-church-78000726/"}