{"nrhp_refnum":"80004085","name":"Immaculate Conception Church","other_names":["Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1218 E. Jefferson St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brownsville","county":"Cameron County","state":"TX","lat":25.902332819000037,"lon":-97.49621155199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Gothic Revival Catholic church, now the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at 1218 E. Jefferson Street in downtown Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, near the Rio Grande. It was built between 1856 and 1859, with a brick rectory added in 1861.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of mid-nineteenth century architecture, of which few examples remain in the Rio Grande Valley, and an early use of Gothic Revival in Texas. It was designed by Father Pierre Y. Keralum, who studied architecture in France. It also marks the development of the Catholic Church in Texas as the first permanent settlement of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the United States.","narrative":"Immaculate Conception Church, now the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, is a brick Gothic Revival building in downtown Brownsville, Texas, near the Rio Grande. Built between 1856 and 1859, it has a Latin cross plan, buttressed walls, an eighty-eight-foot entrance tower, and thirty-eight stained glass windows. Its design is credited to Father Pierre Y. Keralum, who studied architecture in France before entering the seminary. Oblate priests arrived in Brownsville in 1849 and outgrew their first chapel, leading to this larger church. A rectory followed in 1861 and housed the first Oblate seminary in the United States. The building became a cathedral briefly in 1874 and again in 1965, and it was affiliated with St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 1924. Restorations in 1963, 1965 and after a 1970 fire changed some finishes, and moisture in the walls remains a concern. It was listed as an early, highly evolved Texas example of Gothic Revival and as a milestone in Texas Catholic history.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1856-1859)","architect_builder":"Father Pierre Y. Keralum","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in religious use; the form says it continues to serve as an active focus for the community. Condition is marked fair and altered, with moisture problems in the walls.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.449237-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/9714/40971462/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004085.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004085/5e7131b369-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004085/5e7131b369-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"25or6to4, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Immaculate_Conception_Church_Brownsville_Texas.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100004008","name":"Central Brownsville Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/central-brownsville-historic-district-100004008/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971462","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception_Cathedral_(Brownsville,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6004325"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/cameron-county/immaculate-conception-church-80004085/"}