Church of the Visitation
National Register of Historic Places

Church of the Visitation

Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
Listed
September 21, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80000705

About this property

St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church is a historic church in Huntsville, Alabama and is the oldest Catholic church in North Alabama. It began construction in 1861 but was interrupted by the Civil War. The church was completed in 1877. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. St. Mary Church was built of limestone in a Romanesque Revival style. The façade is framed by two hexagonal towers; the spire of the north tower houses the bell, and is raised six feet (1.8 meters) above the south tower. The large central double entrance doors and smaller flanking doors are topped by an arched wooden infill panel. All openings on the façade are topped with projecting round stone arches, with the keystones and imposts projecting further. A stone belt course runs half-way up the front. Pilasters climb between the central and side doors and terminate about 5 feet (1.5 m) above the gable roof in a shallow gable wall. Crosses adorn this wall and the two towers. A semi-hexagonal apse is a later addition to the rear of the building. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Tumminello, Pat (2012). A Mighty Fortress of Faith : A History of St. Mary of the Visitation Church 1861-2011. Specialty Publishing and Printing Co. pp. x, 460. ISBN 9780615530611. Media related to St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church (Huntsville, Alabama) at Wikimedia Commons

Location

222 N. Jefferson St.
Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
34.73286, -86.58732

Categories

RELIGION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

U.S. Courthouse and Post Office
Industrial
0 mi
Building at 305 Jefferson
Industrial
0.1 mi
Halsey, W. L., Warehouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Halsey Grocery Warehouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Struve-Hay Building
Civil War
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Church of the Visitation listed on the National Register?

Church of the Visitation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 21, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Church of the Visitation?

Church of the Visitation is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Church of the Visitation?

The period of significance for Church of the Visitation is recorded as the industrial era.

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