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Our Lady of Loretto recalls the piety of the German immigrants who left Baden, Bavaria, and the Rhineland and settled in Sauk County. Aided by the Reverend Adelbert Inama, they established this church in 1854 as a mission of Sauk City’s St. Aloysius parish. First they built a log structure, but when it burned down they replaced it with this yellow limestone edifice. Lancet openings at the windows and the door, lancet vents in the steeple, and a rose window above the entrance typify the folk expression of the Gothic Revival style. Local stonemasons Mettel and Allart constructed the church’s walls of limestone rubble, overlaying the irregularly coursed stonework with raised beads of mortar to simulate ashlar or square-cut masonry. At the corners they laid dressed limestone quoins to solidify the structure. Papers found in the cornerstone indicate that William Dresen of Sauk City was the carpenter and joiner.
Our Lady’s interior is one of the few original Catholic church interiors to survive in Wisconsin. Erhard Brielmaier’s Milwaukee-based firm built the Gothic altar, ornamenting it with lancet arches, turned finials, and quatrefoils. The walls and ceiling, painted pink, gold, and blue, are stenciled with stars, crosses, fleurs-de-lis, stylized tulips, urns, and other motifs; the artist's name is unknown. Among the faded German inscriptions on the walls is at least one of the Ten Commandments. The Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society, which owns the building, recently completed a major art conservation project.
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
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Co. Hwy. C, 1 mi. W of Denzer
90000378
Located in Town of Honey Creek, Sauk County
Jct. of CR PF and Church Rd.
86003576
Located in Town of Honey Creek, Sauk County
S9505, S9515 CHURCH RD SOUTHWEST CORNER WITH COUNTY HIGHWAY PF
91064
Located in Honey Creek, Sauk County
HONEY CREEK PARKWAY OVER HONEY CREEK
140758
Located in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County
HONEY CREEK PARKWAY OVER HONEY CREEK
140718
Located in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County
