St. Anthony's

St. Anthony's, built by Germans at 615 North 7th Street, with a cornerstone laid in 1904, was retitled St. Mary-St. Anthony upon its consolidation with the Irish church at St Mary's, which I featured several days ago. St. Anthony's is a grand church right next door to City Hall on 7th Street, and catty-corner to the Wyandotte County Courthouse to the northwest, and catty-corner to the old Masonic hall to the northeast that was the scene of the Casino Gambling showdown between the Oklahoma Wyandotte tribe and the Unified Government two years ago. There are a number of churches around town that are more impressive from a the distance than they are as you walk up close and notice the details, but this is one where the lines, and the scale, of the facade are more impressive as you move towards it.

I've been inside St. Anthony's before, but it's been a long time, and I just walked through it quickly. I had hoped to get in again and discretely take some interior shots when I went by on Saturday afternoon, but Mass was going on. Happily, though, a friend came through for me. He had some photos he took with his 35 mm camera while he was on a tour of the city's churches several years back. I had never used my scanner before, but fortunately, it was almost idiot proof, and so I was able to scan his prints, and I have a couple of interior shots of this church as well. You can see the High Altar, with a crucifixion scene, above, and below, we have three of the stations.

A terribly uninformative post, know. Especially following the detail from Blessed Sacrament. St. Anthony's deserves better, and someday, when I get ahold of a history, I'll do it one better. For now, though, you must be satisfied with the entry from the 1911 history, (and the accompanying picture of the church before the towers were built out) and wait patiently for someone to fill in the 95 year gap between then and now.

Transcribed from History of Wyandotte County Kansas and its people ed. and comp. by Perl W. Morgan. Chicago, The Lewis publishing company, 1911. 2 v. front., illus., plates, ports., fold. map. 28 cm. [Vol. 2 contains biographical data. Paged continuously.]

ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH.
Among the most beautiful and imposing church edifices in Kansas City. Kansas, is St. Anthony's, at the corner of Seventh street and Barnett avenue. This church is under charge of Father Leo Molengraft, of the order of Franciscans. It is devoted to the use of the German Catholic residents of the city. In addition to the church the parish has a fine residence and a large school. St. Anthony's parish was organized on All Saints' day, in 1886. Father Guido was its first pastor