St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and School Building

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church and School Building is a Romanesque Revival church and school building at 419 N. Main St. in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, built in 1929. John J. Howley was the architect; Frank J. Cuppels, the builder.

Why it's listed

It was listed in the National Register in 2003 under criteria A and C, with local-level significance in European ethnic heritage and architecture. Its significance runs from 1929 to 1953, reflecting the 1929 construction and renovations around 1952 to the pews and nave.

Physical character

The three-story building is faced in red brick and cut stone on a stone foundation, with a projecting center-bay tower topped by a cross and a castellated terra cotta cornice. Terra cotta trims the stringcourses, panels and sills, and inside, plaster walls and oak pews installed in 1952 furnish the church.

Historical context

The parish of St. John the Evangelist was formed in 1927, after John J. Curran said mass at the Sterling Theatre in 1926, and its church and school building was completed in 1929. The school closed in 1971 amid declining enrollment, and the parish merged with Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in 1994, leaving the building vacant until a renovation began in 2000.