Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum

Last updated

Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum
St.Vincent's Infant Asylum Apr11.jpg
Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum
Location809 W. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Coordinates 43°01′01″N87°55′16″W / 43.01694°N 87.92111°W / 43.01694; -87.92111 (Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum)
Arealess than one acre
Built1878 (1878)
ArchitectCharles A. Gombert, E. Townsend Mix
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 87001742 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 25, 1987

Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum was built as a Catholic institution for unwanted infants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first section of the building was constructed in 1878 in High Victorian Gothic style, with similar additions following. Ever since, the building has housed various social service programs. [2] In 1987 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [3] [4]

History

The Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul order came to Milwaukee in 1846, aiming to care for needy infants and unwed mothers, and to provide health care for the destitute. They established St. John's Infirmary (the predecessor of St. Mary's Hospital) and St. Rose's Orphanage for Girls, both on the east side. [2]

In 1877 the Sisters opened the initial St. Vincent's Asylum, with three nuns caring for nine infants in a rented house on the corner of South Fifth and West Virginia Streets. [2]

That winter the land on Greenfield Avenue where the asylum now stands was bought, and Charles Gombert began to design the first section of the building. The cornerstone was laid in the summer of 1878, with speeches in both English and German. Gombert's initial section is the current east half. It is 3.5 stories, with brick walls sitting on a rusticated limestone foundation, with a mansard roof interrupted by gables and dormers. Above the main entrance, "St. Vincent's Infant Asylum" is carved into a block of limestone. Projecting from one corner is an apse with a cross in the brickwork and small windows. This corresponds to where the chapel is inside. In this first stage, the building housed about 35 infants each year. [2]

In 1890 the building was expanded, doubling its capacity. Gombert's original design included plans for an addition to the west, but instead the Sisters hired E. Townsend Mix to redesign the addition. Mix followed Gombert's lead and designed a similar, compatible addition with limestone foundation and similar brick, but he added deeper bays with chamfered corners, brick corbels to support the cornice, and a more prominent chimney and dormers. Mix's design shows the flashier Gothic that was in style in 1890, as compared to Gombert's more austere Gothic section from 1878, and it may reflect the wealth of donors. [2]

In 1900 another wing was added behind Mix's, again increasing the capacity of the asylum. It was designed by Charles Crane in a simpler style. [2]

St. Vincent's was operated by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. [5] [6] Initially the Asylum cared primarily for children up to age six; these included orphans as well as children of unmarried or widowed mothers. With Milwaukee's large immigrant population, many unfortunate children had little or no family nearby to care for them. Some children were left on the asylum's doorstep. Others were left there temporarily by parents hoping to have the means to take them back some day. The asylum also cared for some unwed mothers. [2]

If the parents were gone, St. Vincent's would try to place children with adoptive families or in boarding places. If they were still at St. Vincent's at age six, girls would be transferred to St. Rose's Orphanage and boys to St. Emilian's. [2]

Starting in 1932, the Catholic Social Welfare Bureau controlled admission to St. Vincent's, as well as placement of older children leaving the asylum. [2]

By 1945 St. Vincent's had admitted 7,315 children and 2,782 mothers, and had a staff of nine sisters. [2]

St. Vincent's was closed in 1958, a result of changes at the State Welfare Department. The St. Vincent DePaul Society treated alcoholic men in the building from 1959 to 1968. After that it was used by United Migrant Opportunity Services. [2] More recently, the building has been used as a daycare and early education center. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica of St. Louis, King of France</span> Church building in St. Louis, Missouri, US

The Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, formerly the Cathedral of Saint Louis, and colloquially the Old Cathedral, is a Catholic church in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the first cathedral west of the Mississippi River and until 1844 the only parish church in St. Louis. It is one of two Catholic basilicas in St. Louis and both are named for King Louis IX of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist (Milwaukee)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist is the episcopal see of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The building itself is in German Renaissance Revival style, built in 1847, with changes after several fires. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Milwaukee Landmark. It is located just east of Cathedral Square Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvary Cemetery (Milwaukee)</span>

Calvary Cemetery is the oldest existing Catholic cemetery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Owned by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, it is the final resting place for many of the city's early influential figures. The cemetery was designated a Milwaukee Landmark in 1981.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is the largest in a nationwide network of faith-based social service providers that form Catholic Charities. Together they form the largest private network of social service providers in the United States. More than 1,400 agencies, institutions, and organizations make up the Catholic Charities network, which provides services to nearly 10 million people in need each year regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds. The network also seeks to advocate for issues of importance to those in need.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (Manhattan)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is a Roman Catholic parish in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1918 by the Dominicans; the attached priory serves as the headquarters of the Eastern United States Province of the order. Its architecture has some unusual features: above the front entrance is one of the few statues of the Crucifixion on the exterior of an American Catholic church; and inside, the Stations of the Cross depict Christ with oil paintings instead of statuary or carvings. It has two Schantz pipe organs. The church building, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street in the Lenox Hill section of the Upper East Side, has been called "one of New York's greatest architectural adornments."

St. Vincent's may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Stanislaus Kostka Church (Chicago)</span> Church in Illinois, United States

Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church is a historic Polish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago that is located at 1351 West Evergreen Avenue in the Pulaski Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is designated as the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy of the Archdiocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Hedwig's (Milwaukee)</span>

St. Hedwig's Roman Catholic Church, is a church and former parish of the Roman Catholic located at 1702 N. Humboldt Ave. on Milwaukee, Wisconsin's East Side at the center of the East Brady Street Historic District, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyacinth (Jacek) Gulski</span> American Roman Catholic priest (1847–1911)

Hyacinth Gulski was a pioneer Polish-American Roman Catholic priest. He served as Archdiocesan Consultor to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon</span> American nun

Sister Irene was an American nun who founded the New York Foundling Hospital in 1869, at a time when abandoned infants were routinely sent to almshouses with the sick and insane. The first refuge was in a brownstone on E.12th St. in Manhattan, where babies could be left anonymously in a receiving crib with no questions asked. The practice was an echo of the medieval foundling wheel and an early example of modern "safe haven" practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healy Asylum</span> United States historic place

The Healy Asylum is an historic building in Lewiston, Maine. It was built in 1893 as an orphanage for boys, a role it served until about 1970. It is now known as Healy Terrace, and is used for affordable senior housing. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, where it is listed as Healy Asylum. It was named for Msgr. James Augustine Healy, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland at the time of its construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families</span>

St. Ann's Center for Children, Youth and Families, formerly known as St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home, is administered by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. It is located at 4901 Eastern Avenue in Avondale, Maryland. It provides housing and support to pregnant and parenting young women and their children, as well as quality day care to the children of working families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Children's Home</span> United States historic place

The Protestant Children's Home, also known as the Protestant Orphans' Asylum, is a historic orphanage building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1973.
In 2015 the building was leased to the Infant Mystics society which began using it as a meeting lodge, renaming the place Cotton Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (Indianapolis, Indiana)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The parish's origins date to 1837, when it was first named Holy Cross parish. In 1850 it was renamed Saint John the Evangelist parish, and is the oldest Catholic parish in the city and in Marion County, Indiana. Considered the mother of the Catholic parishes in Indianapolis, it played an important role in development of the Catholic Church in the city. Saint John's Church served as the pro-cathedral of the diocese from 1878 until 1906; its rectory served as the bishop's residence and chancery from 1878 until 1892. In 1900 the church served as the site of first episcopal consecration held in Indianapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a historic church built in 1893 at the corner of 7th and Washington Streets in Walker's Point on the near South Side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin - still very intact. The building was designated a city landmark in 1973 and added to the National Register of Historic Places the following year for its artistic and architectural significance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church Complex</span> Historic church in Wisconsin, United States

Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church Complex is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 for its architectural significance.

Catholic sisters and nuns in Canada have been an important presence since the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St Vincent de Paul, Liverpool</span> Church in Liverpool, England

The Church of St Vincent de Paul is a Roman Catholic parish church in Park Lane, Liverpool, England. It is an active parish church in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Pastoral Area of Liverpool South. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Vincent de Paul Church (Chicago)</span> Church in Illinois, United States

St. Vincent de Paul Church is a historic parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois. The parish was founded by the Vincentians in 1875. It is affiliated with DePaul University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World Third Street Historic District</span> Historic building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

The Old World Third Street Historic District is the last relatively intact part of the original German retail district in Kilbourntown plat in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It contains examples of various styles of Victorian commercial architecture going back to 1855. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and on the State Register of Historic Places in 1989.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Les Vollmert; Paul Jakubovich (April 15, 1987). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Vincent's Infant Asylum". National Park Service . Retrieved March 17, 2020. with nine photos.
  3. "Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  4. "Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum". LandmarkHunter.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  5. "1878 - Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum - Milwaukee, Wisconsin". Waymarking.com. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  6. "Catholic Orphanages in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee". Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  7. "La Causa - Early Education & Care Center". La Causa, Inc. Retrieved March 17, 2020.