{"nrhp_refnum":"79003453","name":"St. Joseph Catholic Church and School","other_names":["Wapakoneta Catholic Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"309 S Perry St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wapakoneta","county":"Auglaize County","state":"OH","lat":40.56775279300007,"lon":-84.19519027199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Religion","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Roman Catholic church (built 1911) and parochial school (built 1899-1900) on adjoining parts of one block in Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio. The church is at 309 South Perry Street.","why_significant":"The church is a large Romanesque building with High Gothic twin spires, designed by DeCurtin and built by John and Joseph Hemmert. The school is a medieval-looking Romanesque building representing the many large school buildings in the area that have been torn down. Together they reflect the long-running Catholic parish and its parochial education, and they are significant in architecture, education and religion.","narrative":"St. Joseph Catholic Church and School occupy a block in Wapakoneta, Ohio, close to the Auglaize County courthouse. The brick church, completed in 1911 to designs by DeCurtin and built by John and Joseph Hemmert, combines Romanesque forms with High Gothic towers. Twin spires carry four turrets each, a large rose window sits above a triple entrance, and sandstone trim and a Celtic cross mark the roofline. The interior was remodeled in 1969, when the original altars were replaced. The parochial school, built in 1899-1900 by Zeigenfelder & Kuntz, is a brick and ashlar Romanesque building with two round towers and arched windows and doorway. It is described as one of the few surviving imposing school buildings of the area. Catholics in Wapakoneta first attended Mass in nearby Petersburg until a church was built in 1839, and a brick church replaced a log building in 1853. Both current buildings remain in parish use.","period_of_significance":"1875-1899, 1900-1924","architect_builder":"Church: DeCurtin (architect), John and Joseph Hemmert (builders); School: Zeigenfelder & Kuntz (contractor)","architectural_style":"Romanesque with High Gothic towers (church); Romanesque (school)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Both buildings are in religious use as a church and an elementary school; exteriors are in good condition. The church interior was remodeled in 1969 and the school was undergoing repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.224159-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79003453.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003453/80b1f67f94-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003453/80b1f67f94-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Joseph%27s_Catholic_Church_in_Wapakoneta,_light.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Joseph%27s_Catholic_Church_in_Wapakoneta,_light.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984469","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph%27s_Catholic_Church_(Wapakoneta,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7589084"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/auglaize-county/st-joseph-catholic-church-and-school-79003453/"}