St. Elizabeth's Magyar Roman Catholic Church
Why it's listed
St. Elizabeth's Magyar Roman Catholic Church, at 9016 Buckeye Road in Cleveland, is a large limestone church designed in an Italian Baroque eclectic style by Cleveland architect Emile M. Uhlrich. Its facade is modeled on seventeenth-century Roman churches, with a pedimented central portal, a rose window, and two square towers topped by open belfries and octagonal lanterns with ovoid cupolas. Side and rear walls are plain, with tall round-arched windows and a polygonal apse. Inside, a colonnaded center aisle carries a groined vault, and the side windows hold pictorial stained glass. The parish was established on December 11, 1892, as the first Hungarian Catholic church in the United States, led by Rev. Charles Boehm. A brick Gothic church built in 1893 was torn down in 1917, and the present building was begun in 1918 and dedicated in 1922. Cleveland had a large Hungarian population, and the church is recognized both for that immigrant history and for its architecture.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is the second structure of the first Hungarian Roman Catholic church in the United States, serving one of the important American immigrant groups. It is also presented as a superior example of eclectic architecture in the Italian Baroque idiom, with a facade patterned on seventeenth-century Roman churches.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76001402, listed January 30, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 9016 Buckeye Rd., Cleveland |
|---|---|
| County | Cuyahoga County |
| Listed | January 30, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001402 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1892; 1918-1922 |
| Architect / builder | Emile M. Uhlrich |
| Architectural style | Italian Baroque eclectic idiom (data sheet also lists eclectic with Neo-Classical Revival elements) |
| Areas of significance | European, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, in religious use as a church, with an original site and some alteration box noted; owned by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.48529, -81.62332 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76001402.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7587839
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.