The History and Architecture of St.

George Church

Ashton Morris

Cincinnati Art and Architecture, Spring 2020

Dr. Leininger-Miller

April 16, 2020

 Morris 1

Saint George Church, or Old St. George as it is often called today, was designed by

Samuel Hannaford and built in 1874. The building is mainly in the Romanesque Revival style of

architecture with some Gothic elements and was originally built to serve as a Catholic church. In

more recent years, while there have been few architectural changes apart from the towers, it has

been converted into a Crossroads church center. Its construction is characteristic of the time

period, which favored Romanesque Revival architecture, and holds several similarities with a

number of other structures designed by Hannaford, yet it still holds its own identity with a

unique character.

The community of St. George in the Cincinnati area had built their first church in the year

1868 and its completion was celebrated with great fanfare and a grand procession. It was a

simple two-story brick building meant to support the currently small congregation. The Midwest

was still seeing an influx of settlers at the time, however, and the German Catholic population of

Cincinnati was growing rapidly. As a result, St. George quickly outgrew its first home and was

in need of a larger space. In order to ensure that the congregation wouldn’t outgrow its own

space again, “they planned a new church that would have no further growing pains.”1 Thus,

plans for the grand Old St. George were drawn and the cornerstone was laid in October of 1872.

Once completed, the congregation held a celebration even larger than the first. The finished

structure, constructed with brick, stood two stories tall. The first floor would serve as a chapel

and main worship space while the second functioned as a Catholic school and the old church on

the adjacent lot was converted into a Teachers College of the Archdiocese. Later, in the 1910s

and 1920s, the congregation would build a Jacobethan style school next door and a Romanesque

monastery addition to the main church.2 It is unclear if Hannaford was responsible for the
1
“Community Celebration Saint George Church.” Custombook, 1968. 7.
2
Giglierano, Geoffrey J., et al. The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: A Portrait
of Two Hundred Years. Cincinnati Historical Society, 1988.
 Morris 2

designs of either structure. Both of the newer structures remain standing, but the original church

was demolished for parking space.

Saint George Church is situated on the highest point in the Corryville area. At the time of

its construction, it would have been one of the largest structures in the area and would have had a

commanding presence. To either side of the front façade, there is a tall tower capped by a spire

that is almost equally as tall which, according to John Clubbe in Cincinnati Observed:

Architecture and History, add to the stress on the church’s verticality.3 Sue Ann Painter also

commented on the spires in Architecture in Cincinnati, stating that the columns are used to

achieve height without interfering with sightlines.4 In an extra effort to add to the verticality of

the church without building a third story, the roof is steeply gabled and creates a sharp, upward

push at the point.

As previously mentioned, the church is an example of Romanesque Revival architecture

that incorporates several Gothic elements. Clubbe mentions in his short exploration of the

church that Hannaford likely modelled its design from St. George’s Episcopal Church in New

York City, built in 1848.5 The main façade combines many elements from the two styles. A

common element of both styles see here is the tripartite façade. Above each portal is a round

arch that encloses a tympanum with carved imagery. In Gothic fashion, the façade features a

large rose window under the arch of the gabled roof. Romanesque influence is seen with the red

brick, which appears heavy and solid. The windows on the church also follow more in line with

Romanesque design. Rather than take the form of lancet windows, they have round arch tops.

For accenting, Hannaford used sandstone for trim around the building and the small Corinthian
3
Clubbe, John. Cincinnati Observed: Architecture and History. Columbus: Ohio State Univ.
Press, 1992.
4
Painter, Sue Ann. Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building
an American City. Edited by John G. Hancock. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2006. 78.
5
Clubbe. Cincinnati Observed.
 Morris 3

columns around the front doors and used a copper green color for the spires. Along the roof, the

brick is corbeled for added aesthetic appeal.

The interior of the church is an impressive space. The floor plan is that of a hall church,

with side aisles but lacking an ambulatory, and the design elements follow more with Gothic

than Romanesque stylings. The space takes up all two stories of the building to stress verticality

and reach to the heavens. The roof of the space is covered in a lacework of rib vaulting.

Supporting the vaulting is a series of compound piers topped with carved golden colored

capitals. The piers appear almost too skinny to support the large structure, but the relatively

small diameter serves to make the space feel even more open and grand. Each wall is lined with

floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows. As with the windows on the front façade, they are topped

with round arches. In the apse of the church, the curved ceiling is decorated with angelic figures

against a golden background that evokes the heavens.

The architect of Saint George Church was Samuel Hannaford. Originally born in

England, Hannaford immigrated to the United States with his family as a young child. In the

early stages of his career, he apprenticed with John Hamilton.6 Shortly after, he left to start his

own firm. Over the course of his career, Hannaford was responsible for the design of a great

many buildings in the Greater Cincinnati Area, including but not limited to: Music Hall (1878),

City Hall (1893), and the Workhouse (1981, now demolished). The construction of Old St.

George was during the earlier years of his career and was in fact the first church Hannaford

would design.7 Over the course of his career, Hannaford’s architectural style had a tendency to

fluctuate and alter in order to follow suite with current building trends as well as compliment the

6
Burke, Tim. “Samuel Hannaford: The Man Who Built Cincinnati.” Cincinnati History. The
Artifact, March 21, 2019. https://www.cincinnatihistory.org/post/samuel-hannaford-the-man-
who-built-cincinnati.
7
“Old St. George: A Great Good Place.” CityBeat, Nov. 2001.
 Morris 4

function of the building, so while the church holds some similarities with other structures

designed by Hannaford, it is still very distinct.

Over the river in Covington, KY, is Mother of God Roman Catholic Church, designed by

Walter and Stuart and completed in 1871. When comparing the façades of the two churches,

they appear to have a great number of similarities and, due to the fact that Mother of God was

completed just a few years before Old St. George, one could easily assume Hannaford drew

inspiration from the earlier model. In fact, Hannaford had even helped with the design by adding

a pediment to the façade when the church underwent renovations years later. The strongest

similarity between the two churches is the incorporation of towers to either side of the façade

that stress verticality and in both cases, there is a clock on each side of both columns and the

coloring of the upper portion is a copper green. Additionally, the walls are constructed of a red

brick and Mother of God has a series of horizontal bands created by using sandstone, similar to

Old St. George. A final note of resemblance is seen in the church’s tripartite entry way, a

common feature of worship centers. Similarities end there, however, as the main portion of the

façade is modeled after a Greek temple in a German-Austrian fashion.8

Mother of God is also a hall church, meaning the floor plan of the interior bears much

resemblance to Old St. George. Both have an aisle to either side of the nave and neither structure

makes use of an ambulatory around the apse. Although window arrangements are slightly

differing, both were done in a way to let in as much light as possible. As for the roof, both are

slightly higher over the nave than over the aisles. Old St. George, however, makes use of rib

vaulting where Mother of God relies on barrel vaults, which is a more Romanesque feature.

Another difference lies in the fact that Mother of God uses a dome over the space just before the

8
Painter, Sue Ann. Architecture in Cincinnati. 78.
 Morris 5

nave. In this way, Old St. George holds its own character, remaining a separate and distinct

work.

Built only a few years after the completion of Old St. George, Hannaford was

commissioned for Music Hall after winning a competition for the building’s design. A massive

structure, Music Hall lives up to the grandeur of the High Victorian Gothic style. Stated in Sue

Ann Painter’s Architecture in Cincinnati, “Music Hall’s plan is liturgical in shape and attitude,”

making it the perfect comparison for the church among Hannaford’s work.9 The east façade

bears much resemblance to Old St. George. The most striking of similarities can be seen in the

structure of the middle portion of the façade. Like the church, it has a gabled roof and is framed

by a spire to either side but they are much shorter than the St. George’s. However, this style

difference follows with Hannaford’s tendency to alter the design to fit the purpose. While Music

Hall is often referred to the church of the music community, it is a multipurpose hall that rather

stresses its horizontality.

Decoration of the façade also holds many similarities to the church, the most important of

which is the large rose window near the top. The majority of the remaining windows are in the

round arched style, again in a more Romanesque fashion. As for color of the buildings, both are

constructed with a red brick and incorporate a second element for accents. In the case of Old St.

George, the accent came in the form of wood painted a copper green color along with the use of

sandstone. As for Music Hall, the accent was originally created by dipping some of the bricks in

tar and laying them in a strategically planned pattern. The roof of the structure is in a similar

color. There is also a series of horizontal bands in a lighter color.

9
Ibid., 103.
 Morris 6

Hannaford’s style of architectural design changed to follow current tastes of the city of

Cincinnati. The Romanesque Revival period in architecture spanned the construction of Old St.

George and held influence over a number of Cincinnati buildings, especially when combined

with some Gothic elements. The Wise Temple, designed by James Keys Wilson and completed

in 1866, is an example of a contemporary structure which Hannaford could have referenced

when designing Old St. George. The temple is again in the hall church layout, is constructed

mainly of a red brick, and features a large rose window. However, as Hannaford often practiced,

Wilson incorporated elements that matched the purposes of the building. Thus, its eclectic

nature includes a Moorish influence, making it the first temple of its kind in America.10 As a

result of such an influence, the spires that frame the middle of the façade appear more minaret-

like than tower-like, as on Old St. George and Mother of God Church.

A couple decades after the completion of Old St. George, Hannaford went on to design

Cincinnati City Hall in 1893. In keeping with current trends, he went with a Richardsonian

Romanesque design, which had been created by H. H. Richardson with an award-winning design

in the 1880s.11 Despite stylistic differences, Hannaford still incorporated similar elements in the

two designs. Consistent with Romanesque features, Hannaford continues to rely on round

arched windows. While he has forgone symmetry (which is characteristic of the newer style), he

is also still incorporating a spire-like tower with a clock on each side of the structure. Again,

Hannaford is continuing to use horizontal bands to break up the surface of the walls.

In more recent history, Old St. George has seen some big renovations and repairs. In the

1990s, changing demographics in the area meant that the majority of the parishioners had gone

elsewhere and when the congregation was merged with the newer Saint Monica, even more left.
10
Clubbe, John. Cincinnati Observed. 51.
11
Garner, John C. Ohio MPS Cincinnati City Hall. National Archives Catalogue. 2013-2017.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985340. April 10, 2020.
 Morris 7

The building remained empty for several years. In 1993, Campus Ministries, along with several

other organizations, took up residence in the old church. Then, in February of 2008, the building

caught fire and the wooden spires were lost. Shortly after, the building was bought by

Crossroads Church. The organization would pay $11 million to renovate the space.

One of the more important renovations was the installation of new spires. In an effort to

avoid losing the iconic element of the façade again, they were constructed with steel rather than

wood, but the color remains nearly the same. Other than some cleaning and signage, the spires

were the only change to the exterior. Interior spaces, on the other hand, were heavily altered not

just in an effort to breathe new life into the building, but to modernize it for the new worship

style it would have to support. Throughout the building, new lights were installed and walls

were painted to match the color palette of the organization’s branding. In the main chapel, which

is now the auditorium, rows of chairs were placed rather than using pews. Crossroads installed

many stage lights in the space. Some of the lights occupy wall space, but many of them are

along the compound piers and are supported by black scaffolding around the shaft. The most

disappointing of changes in the chapel space is the fact that, to about halfway up, the walls, piers,

and fixtures have all been painted black.

Old St. George may not accurately represent its past presence, but it nevertheless holds a

colorful history. It is characteristic of the Romanesque Revival style, which was popular during

the time of its construction. Designed by Samuel Hannaford, it bears some resemblance to the

designs of several of his other projects, yet holds its own unique character, as it was designed

with its function in mind. Having stood for nearly 150 years and now listed on the National

Historic Register, it is the hope that the building will stand for many more and that the iconic

spires will remain in the Corryville skyline.

 Morris 8

Ryan Kurtz, Untitled (Old St. George Church), August 2016, Photograph.
 Morris 9

Photographer unknown, Untitled (Interior of St. George), 1968, Photograph.

 Morris 10

Chuck Eilerman, Mother of God Church, September 26, 2020, Photograph.

 Morris 11

Bibliography

Burke, Tim. “Samuel Hannaford: The Man Who Built Cincinnati.” Cincinnati History, The

Artifact, 21 Mar. 2019, www.cincinnatihistory.org/post/samuel-hannaford-the-man-who-

built-cincinnati. April 2, 2020

“Cincinnati Observed Architecture and History.” Cincinnati Observed Architecture and History,

by John Clubbe, Ohio State University Press, 1992, pp. 278–279.

Clubbe, John. Cincinnati Observed: Architecture and History. Columbus: Ohio State Univ.

Press, 1992.

“Community Celebration Saint George Church.” Custombook, 1968.

“Crossroads | Uptown.” Platte Architecture and Design, www.plattedesign.com/crossroads-

uptown. Feb. 22, 2020.

Eigelbach, Kevin. “Crossroads Church Breathes New Life into Clifton Heights' Old St.

George.” WCPO Cincinnati, 12 July 2016, www.wcpo.com/news/insider/crossroads-

church-breathes-new-life-into-clifton-heights-old-st-george. Feb. 22, 2020.

Eilerman, Chuck. “Mother of God Church.” Norther Kentucky Tribune, Kentucky Center for

Public Service Journalism, Cincinnati, 26 Sept. 2016,

https://www.nkytribune.com/2016/09/our-rich-history-cradle-of-the-arts-celebrates-

mother-of-god-church-mutter-gottes-kirche/. April 10, 2020.

Garner, John C. Ohio MPS Cincinnati City Hall. National Archives Catalogue. 2013-2017.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985340. April 10, 2020.

Giglierano, Geoffrey J., et al. The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: A Portrait of Two

Hundred Years. Cincinnati Historical Society, 1988.

 Morris 12

Goss, Rev. Charles F. Cincinnati The Queen City 1788-1912. Vol. 1-2, The S.J. Clarke

Publishing Company, 1912.

Kurtz, Ryan. Untitled. Photograph. Crossroads Uptown at Old St. George. Cincinnati: Cincinnati

Design Awards, August 2016.

https://www.cincinnatidesignawards.com/cda_entries/crossroads-uptown-at-old-st-

george/.

“Ohio MPS St. George Parish and Newman Center.” 1934. National Archives Catalog.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71985412. Feb. 22, 2020.

“Old St. George: A Great Good Place.” CityBeat, Nov. 2001.

“Old St George Church.” UC Historical Walking Tour, sites.google.com/site/ucwalks/points-of-

interest/old-st-george-church.

Painter, Sue Ann. Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building

an American City. Edited by John G. Hancock. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2006.

Rouse, Robert. “Kentucky SP Mother of God Roman Catholic Church.” National Register of

Historic Places, 2013-2017, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123850975. April 2, 2020.

Stephens, Sarah. “Old St. George Church.” CityBeat Cincinnati, 20 Feb. 2008, 2:00 pm,

www.citybeat.com/home/article/13024853/old-st-george-church. Accessed Feb 22, 2020.

Tansey, Eira. “History of St. George.” Old St. George: 1868-2008,

digital.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/arb/stgeorge/history.php. Feb. 18, 2020.