Property Record
656 PLEASANT ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | St. Paul Catholic Church |
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| Reference Number: | 28472 |
| Location (Address): | 656 PLEASANT ST |
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| County: | Rock |
| City: | Beloit |
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| Year Built: | 1914 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19802015 |
| Historic Use: | house of worship |
| Architectural Style: | Romanesque Revival |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the State Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation. Builder was William Fitzgerald. Founded by Italian immigrants. USED AS A CHURCH UNTIL 1988. As of 2020, the current owner of the building is the Beloit Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. d/b/a Visit Beloit. The future use of the structure will be an event venue. A future addition to the structure is planned for this property. The gable roof of this church is flanked by a truncated square "tower" with flat roof trimmed with battlements. The front red brick gable wall includes wall buttresses, inset crosses and a rose window with four keystones. Side walls contain a series of four round windows each. Although at first Beloit's Italian-speaking Catholic families were parishioners at St. Thomas Catholic Church, they later formed their own St. Paul's Catholic Church and dedicated their church building in 1914. Miss Alice Broder, a prominent Beloit woman, donated a large sum of money for the church. The church was then named after the name saint of her brother Paul. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) BELOIT DAILY NEWS 4/22/1993; 4/20/1994; 5/24/1994. (B) JANESVILLE GAZETTE 4/17/1994; 5/17/1994; 5/24/1994. (C) MILWAUKEE SENTINEL 12/21/1994. (D) WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 12/21/1994. (E) BOOK OF BELOIT, 1936, P. 120. Beloit Daily News 9/21/1998. City of Beloit Press Release - https://www.beloitwi.gov/index.asp?SEC=725CA980-D88D-45BC-AC9C-3A73AF0BF563&DE=1A2A168D-D906-4EE4-AB0F-9FD4DD460965 Beloit Daily News story - https://www.beloitdailynews.com/visit-beloit-transforming-angel-museum-site/article_a53b6aa6-25cb-5c57-8aa4-b1e610184941.html |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |