Polish Cathedral style

The Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England. These monumentally grand churches are not necessarily cathedrals, defined as seats of bishops or of their dioceses.

Polish Cathedral churches generally have large amounts of ornamentation in the exterior and interior, comparable only to the more famous Churrigueresque or Spanish Baroque style. The decorations used reflect the tastes of the Polish immigrants to these regions in both the symbols and statuary of saints prominently displayed throughout. Additionally there is a heavy proclivity towards ornamentation drawn from the Renaissance and Baroque periods as well as modeling designs after famous churches in Poland. The claim of different 'architectural styles' of Europe ascribed to these churches is misleading, as most of them are already labeled by art historians as examples of Eclecticism and Historicism, characterized by the various Architectural Revivals found in styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These churches exhibit a mixture of architectural traits from numerous past eras characteristic of Europe and the Americas.

A unique synthesis
Skerrett says Polish churches surpassed other immigrants’ churches in size. Their style promoted the immigrants' vision of Polish identity.

Kantowicz writes in The Archdiocese of Chicago: A Journey of Faith: "The preference of the Polish League for Renaissance and Baroque forms seems more clear cut. The glory days of the Polish Commonwealth came in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when it formed the largest state in Europe… The architectural style of Chicago's Polish churches in Chicago reflect this, particularly the magnificent edifices of Worthmann and Steinbach built along Milwaukee Avenue on the Northwest Side, reflected the renaissance glory of Polish Catholicism".

Peter Williams in his book Houses of God: Region, Religion, and Architecture in the United States on p. 179 writes,"n Detroit and Chicago especially, a distinctive genre of church building emerged among Polish communities, the "Polish Cathedral." Where most Catholic churches were built in grander or humbler variations and Gothic and Romanesque themes popular across the country, the ambitious prelates in the Great Lakes Polonias often chose to make monumental statements in the Renaissance style of their mother country. The scale of these structures was often enormous, both in the great size of these parishes and the episcopal ambitions of their clerical leaders… Still visible from the freeways, many of these "cathedrals" such as St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago now serve African-American or Latino constituencies while others have been closed by their Archbishops as no longer economically viable.

The churches are major tourist attractions in Chicago, with tours devoted exclusively to them. In May 1980 the Chicago Architecture Foundation's ArchiCenter held an exhibit on these treasures titled Chicago's Polish Churches.

These ornate temples were largely built by the working poor in these regions in the era spanning the period from the end of the American Civil War until the end of World War II.

Criticism by other religious groups
These stylistically exaggerated churches were criticized by many of Chicago's Protestant elites as "ostentatious" in comparison with the "plainer" style in vogue for Protestant houses of worship. Catholic Church authorities such as John Lancaster Spalding, the first Bishop of Peoria, responded by comparing the churches financed by the immigrants to the pyramids of Egypt built by slaves.

The need for identity was evident in the unique architecture of the Polish Cathedral Style. It was often associated with the religious order of the Congregation of the Resurrection, in addition to the architectural stylings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Both in scale and scope, these edifices were attempts to contradict the marginal status in which the Polish immigrants found themselves. As a stateless people whose culture was systematically attacked in its homeland during the years of partition, they also had a low position on the economic ladder in the turn of the century industrial centers to which they had immigrated. The construction of these churches greatly influenced the development of neighborhoods that surrounded them. World views brought by the Polish immigrants from the Old World, as well as their creative adaptation into the New World, shaped the landscape of the rapidly growing industrial regions to which they came.

Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in the city of Chicago
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of St. Adalbert	Lower West Side	Neoclassical
2. Church of St. Barbara	Bridgeport	Renaissance
3. Covenant Presbyterian Church of Chicago (formerly All Saints Polish National Catholic Cathedral)	Bucktown	Gothic
4. Church of St. Hedwig	Logan Square	Renaissance Revival
5. Holy Innocents Church	West Town	Romanesque with Byzantine flourishes
6. Church of the Holy Trinity	West Town	Renaissance
7. Basilica of St. Hyacinth	Avondale	Renaissance
8. Church of Immaculate Conception	South Chicago	Renaissance
9. Church of Our Lady of Tepeyac (formerly St. Casimir)	Lower West Side	Baroque
10. Church of St. John Cantius	West Town	Baroque
11. Church of St. John of God (Closed in 1992)	Back of the Yards	Baroque
12. Church of St. Joseph (Shrine)	Back of the Yards	Baroque
13. Church of St. Josaphat	Lincoln Park	Romanesque
14. Church of St. Mary of the Angels	Bucktown	Neoclassical
15. Church of St. Mary of Perpetual Help	Bridgeport	Romanesque-Byzantine
16. Church of St. Michael the Archangel	South Chicago	Gothic
17. Salem Baptist Church of Chicago (formerly St. Salomea)	Pullman	Gothic
18. Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka	West Town	Renaissance
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Chicago's suburbs
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of St. Andrew's	Calumet City	Renaissance
2. Church of Ss. Cyril and Methodius	Lemont	Renaissance
3. Church of St. Mary of Częstochowa	Cicero	Gothic
Outside Chicago
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Detroit, Michigan
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel	Wyandotte	Renaissance
2. Church of St. Florian	Hamtramck	Gothic
3. St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church (now Promise Land Missionary Baptist Church)	Detroit-east side, Michigan	Romanesque
4. St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church (now The Polish-American Historical Site Association)	Detroit, Michigan-east side Canfield Ave	Gothic Revival
5. Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church	Detroit, Michigan-east side Canfield Ave	Gothic Revival
6. St Francis D'Assisi Roman Catholic Church	Detroit, Michigan SW side	Italian Renaissance
7. St Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church	Detroit, Michigan east side	Byzantine Romanesque
8. St Hedwig Roman Catholic Church	Detroit, Michigan SW side
9. St Casimir Roman Catholic Church, Torn down in 1967. Twin of St Mary of Perpetual Help Chicago	Detroit, Michigan SW side	Romanesque Byzantine
10.St John Cantius-closed in 2009	Detroit-Delray	Romanesque
11.St Josephat	Detroit, Michigan east side Canfield Ave	Romanesque and Gothic Revival
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Basilica of St Adelbert	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Romanesque with Byzantine influence
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Bay City, Michigan
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. St. Stanislaus Kostka	Bay City, Michigan-south side	Gothic Revival
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Cleveland, Ohio
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus	Slavic Village	Gothic architecture
2. St. Casimir Church	St. Clair-Superior	Romanesque
3. Church of St. John Cantius	Tremont	Baroque, Art Deco
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of St. Stanislaus	South Side	Renaissance
2. Church of St. Adalbert	South Side	Romanesque Revival
3. St. Josaphat Basilica	South Side	Baroque
4. Church of St. Casimir	Riverwest	Baroque
5. Church of St. Vincent de Paul	South Side	Romanesque
6. St. Hedwig Church	South Side	Romanesque, Gothic
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. St. Stanislaus Kostka Church	Strip District	Romanesque
2. Immaculate Heart of Mary	Polish Hill	Baroque
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of St. John Cantius	Bridesburg	Gothic
2. Church of St. Adalbert	Port Richmond	Gothic
3. Church of St. Laurentius	Fishtown	Gothic
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Winona, Minnesota
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka	(downtown Winona)	Romanesque
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Chicopee, Massachusetts
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Basilica of Saint Stanislaus	Chicopee Center (Cabotville)	Baroque Revival
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Buffalo, New York
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church	East Side, Buffalo	Romanesque Revival
2. St. Adalbert's Basilica	East Side, Buffalo	Romanesque Revival
3. Corpus Christi R. C. Church Complex	East Side, Buffalo	Romanesque Revival
4. Church of the Assumption	Black Rock, Buffalo	Gothic
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Syracuse, New York
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Syracuse	Westside, Syracuse	Gothic Revival
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in Baltimore, Maryland
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1.Holy Rosary Church	Upper Fells Point	Romanesque
2.St. Casimir Church	Canton	Romanesque
Churches in the 'Polish Cathedral' style in New Haven, Connecticut
Church	Location	Dominant Architectural Theme
1. St. Stanislaus Church	Upper State Street Historic District	Baroque

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