St. Agnes Catholic Church (Vermillion, South Dakota)

The Washington Street Arts Center is a historic building at 202 Washington Street in Vermillion, South Dakota. It was originally built as the parish church of St. Agnes Catholic Church and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

St. Agnes Catholic Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	202 Washington St., Vermillion, South Dakota
Coordinates	42°46′54″N 96°56′4″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1906
Built by	August Goetz
Architect	Anton Dohmen
Architectural style	Late Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	95000280[1]
Added to NRHP	March 27, 1995

History

The first Catholic church in Vermillion was built in 1885, but was destroyed by a tornado in 1889, replaced with a new structure the following year. By 1900, the community had outgrown that building, and fundraising began for a larger church. Anton Dohmen, a Bavarian immigrant who was architect for many churches in Wisconsin and the Dakotas, designed the new church in the Gothic Revival style. The cornerstone was laid in August 1906, and the new church opened on September 21, 1907.^[2] The parish outgrew the church and moved to a new space in 1974, selling the historic church to the Church of the Nazarene, which in turn sold it to the Vermillion Area Arts Council in 1990.^[2]

It was built by German-born contractor August Goetz.^[3]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Zion, Lee (October 15, 2015), "Steepling the prairie: Architect Anton Dohmen's churches adorn the Dakota plains", Capital Journal, retrieved December 19, 2015
3. Michael A. Bedeau (August 24, 1994). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Agnes Catholic Church / Washington Street Arts Center". National Park Service. Retrieved August 10, 2019. With accompanying nine photos from 1994