Property Record
200 APPLETON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | St. Mary's Catholic Rectory |
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| Other Name: | St. Mary's Catholic Rectory |
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| Reference Number: | 59544 |
| Location (Address): | 200 APPLETON ST |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Menasha |
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| Year Built: | 1936 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2005 |
| Historic Use: | religious residence |
| Architectural Style: | Prairie School |
| Structural System: | Unknown |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | Edward Wettengel |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | #650. Church, Convent, High School. Front stoop. The history of St. Mary's Catholic Church began in 1866 when the German contingent of St. Mallachi's (later St. Charles of Borroneo and now St. Patrick's) Catholic Church left that congregation to form their own. They purchased the old Congregational Church and built the present church in 1883 after a disasterous fire. Completed in 1885, St. Mary's lost its Polish faction three years later when St. John's congregation was formed. The congregation prospered in spite of this defection, constructing a school, rectory, and convent on church grounds by 1898. Each of these later improvements were subsequently altered or replaced, including the rectory at the corner of Appleton and Third. Constructed in 1936, St. Mary's Rectory cost of $18,000. While not identified with the tenure of any individual pastor, St. Mary's Rectory is associated with the continued growth, affluence, and prominence of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Situated along one of the city's principal arteries, St. Mary's Rectory is a two-story vernacular residence with Classic Revival references. Its building plan is rectangular and the roof is hipped with a hipped dormer. The roofing materials are asphalt, and the walls and foundations are brick. The fenestration is formally balanced on each floor and includes single and paired windows with single-paned, double-hung sash. Decorative features include brick belt courses and a pedimented entrance with doric columns, floriform carvings in the pediment face, and a segmentally arched roof. The rectory is attached to the church by a later addition. While maintaining a high level of site and structural integrity, St. Mary's Rectory is undistinguished architecturally. The St. Mary's Catholic Church Complex consists of the church (1883), rectory (1936), convent (1950) and school buildings (1952, 1962 and 2001), as well as a statue of Mary. The statue of Mary was inventoried as part of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art Save Outdoor Sculpture (SOS!) Wisconsin survey completed in 1993. Its inventory number is #IAS WI000009. The following information is from the 2009 Intensive Survey of Menasha: The St. Mary's (German) Roman Catholic Church complex includes an 1883 Gothic Revival church (AHI#59141; rectory (1936, AHI#59544); convent (1950, AHI#59139); school buildings (1952, 1962 and 2001, AHI#59140) and a garage. In addition, a circa-1935, stone statue of St. Mary stands in the school courtyard. Constructed of cream brick and rising from a rock-faced, limestone foundation, the Gothic Revival-style church is dominated by a 120-foot high, central tower entrance that is topped with a slate-shingled steeple; clock faces are found on all four elevations. A pair of wooden doors rest within the raised, central entry, as well as the flanking street-level entrances. Tall-and-narrow, lancet openings are found throughout the tower, as well as along the side walls; most appear to carry stained-glass windows with modest tracery. The stained glass was designed by the Tyrol Art Glass Company of Innsbruck, Germany. Brick buttressing and pilasters vertically articulate the sidewalls, which are further embellished with a brickwork corbel table; the corbel table is also found along the front and rear elevations. A brick, one-story hyphen connects the church to the rectory on the north while another more recent hyphen connects the church to the 1962 school building to the west. Although a Catholic mission was established in the Neenah-Menasha area in 1848, St. Mary's German R.C. Church would not be established until 1866, after feeling the need to have a German ethnic-based congregation (St. Borromeo--now St. Patrick's--an Irish congregation, was formed in 1849). Their first church building was the former First Congregational Church located at the subject site. Within two years, St. Mary's had constructed a school; a rectory and convent followed in 1876 and 1879, respectively. In 1883, St. Mary's church was destroyed by fire and the congregation hired St. Louis architect Adolphus Druiding to design the existing Gothic Revival-style church. Druiding had fast become a popular choice for church design in the Midwest. One of the reasons may well have been that he was willing to produce "a church of any size to fit any budget, however, large or small." An 1886 catalog of Druiding's claimed that he designed over 400 church buildings. The church spire was not constructed until 1890. Although the church building has remained intact from the congregation's early years, the remainder of the complex has seen complete building replacement twice over. The original 1868 school was replaced in the 1920s with a design by E. Brielmaier & Sons, which was later replaced in 1952, with additions in 1962 and 2001-02. The original rectory and convent were replaced in 1898 and more recently in 1936 and 1950, respectively. Both extant structures were designed by Appleton architect Edward Wettengel. The church still operates a school for elementary students (Preschool to 5th grade); however, it is now part of the larger, consolidated, Twin City Catholic Education System. The convent, albeit extant, has been utilized as a ministry and youth retreat since the School Sisters of Notre Dame moved out in 1983. It was first named the La Salle Center, which was later changed to the Mount Tabor Center. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Island City Times August 21, 1866, p. 1, col. 3. (B) Menasha Press February 8, 1883, p. 1. (C) Mancosky, George and Zelinski, Robert. St. John the Baptist Church Diamond Jubliee: 1888-1963. Printed privately, 1963. Menasha, Wisconsin. Page 1. (D) Augustin, C.J. Semi-Centennial Edition of the Menasha Press. Menasha Press, 1898. Menasha, Wisconsin, p. 11. (E) Menasha record July 1, 1936, p. 1. Architectural drawings for the rectory by Edward Wettengel, are on file at the Wisconsin Architectural Archive, Milwaukee Public (Central) Library, 2nd floor, East Wing, Milwaukee, WI. "St. Mary Parish, Centennial Celebration, 1867-1967," Anniversary Booklet prepared by the St. Mary's Parish congregation (1967). "St. Mary Parish, Menasha, Celebrates 125 Years, 1867-1992," Anniversary booklet prepared by the St. Mary's Parish congregation, 1992, 8-10, 40. Information regarding the fact that E. Brielmaier & Sons designed the 1920s school from the Wisonsin Architectural Archive Index Edward Wettengel, "St. Mary's Congregation Convent," no date and "St. Mary's Congregation, Menasha, Wisconsin, Plans for a Parsonage Building," no date, Original plans for each on file at the WAA. Information regarding the former convent#25;s conversion to a youth center, Available at www.mttabor.net. Roy A. Hampton, III, "German Gothic in the Midwest: The Parish Churches of Franz George Himpler and Adolphus Druiding," U.S. Catholic Historian, 15:1 (Winter 1977): 55. Architecture and History Survey. December 2005. Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |