St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church
Why it's listed
Built in 1926 on East Street in Pittsburgh's North Side, St. Boniface is a stone and tile church designed by local architect Albert Francis Link of the firm Link, Weber, and Bowers. The parish grew from an 1884 mission of St. Mary's Church and served a German-American Catholic community in the area known as Dutchtown. The building is a cruciform church in the Byzanto-Romanesque style, with a dome rising 92 feet above a crossing, limestone facing, and a red barrel tile roof. It has no structural steel and is virtually fireproof, its barrel vaults and dome built in the Guastavino tile system, faced with Akoustolith tile. Its interior includes Mueller art tile floors, stained glass windows, and a Kimball pipe organ. The nomination regards the church as a major example of early twentieth-century Medieval Revival design in the region, and as the Pittsburgh-area building with the most striking use of Guastavino tile. The church was threatened by planned construction of Interstate 279.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the church is a leading example of the Byzanto-Romanesque style of early 20th-century eclecticism in the Pittsburgh region. Its construction is noteworthy for having no structural steel and for its extensive Guastavino tile vaulting and dome, which the nomination describes as a spectacular use of the system in Pittsburgh. The church is also presented as a focal point of the community's German-American Catholic history.
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 81000525, listed November 17, 1981. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | East St., Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| County | Allegheny County |
| Listed | November 17, 1981 |
| Reference number | 81000525 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | Albert Francis Link (architect), Link, Weber, and Bowers (firm) |
| Architectural style | Byzanto-Romanesque / Byzantine with Romanesque and Art Deco elements |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Nomination notes the church was threatened by planned construction of I-279 and that the congregation has struggled to retain it. |
| Acreage | 0.7 |
| Coordinates | 40.46706, -79.99999 (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 81000525.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7587337
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.