St. Patrick's RC Church

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church
DEMOLISHED 1982

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, the Hydraulics landmark that once stood at the corner of Emslie and Seymour streets, was demolished in 1982 by the Diocese of Buffalo... built in 1891 as the permanent house of worship for the parish founded at the site in 1853

When the cornerstone was laid in 1891, the plans for St. Patrick's were described by the Buffalo Express: "The new structure will be an ornament to the city and a credit to the people of the church. It will be in a pure gothic style, built of Medina sandstone, and will cost about $150,000. It will have a seating capacity of 1,250. In size it will be 80 by 160 ground measurement and 68 feet high to the top of the gable. Its two towers will be respectively 165 and 130 feet high. The inside height from floor to ceiling will be 60 feet. The plans were drawn by architects C.K. Porter and Son."

The adjacent friary on Seymour Street is all that remains of the original church complex.

- Text source: Chris Hawley, St. Patrick's: Hydraulics landmark removed in 1982 (online April 2014)
- Photos source: Tina Lewandowski, as found in St. Patrick's: Hydraulics landmark removed in 1982

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church
DEMOLISHED

The Hydraulics boasted several churches which served the spiritual needs of area residents. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church (founded originally as St. Vincent de Paul) was established at Seymour and Emslie Streets in 1853, and the while the original church building was a small frame chapel, a large sandstone Gothic Revival church and monastery designed by C.K. Porter and Son were constructed on the site in 1891.

- Section E, p. 10, The Hydraulics/Larkin Neighborhood - Nomination for Listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places by Jennifer Walkowski.

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church
DEMOLISHED

The Hydraulics
Few, comparatively speaking, know about the history of the Hydraulics, Buffalo’s oldest industrial district.

Founded in 1827 by the Buffalo Hydraulic Association, the area soon had its own canal and railroad network. The Hydraulics’ astronomical growth and exciting innovation were based on Seneca Street, and with a promising future thousands of Irish immigrants poured into the district, later to be joined by the Germans and Polish.

The Beginning of St. Patrick’s – The Hydraulics Church
The Irish immigrants who took the first jobs in the Hydraulics were for the vast majority, practicing Roman Catholics. Because the nearest church where parishioners could hear sermons and go to confession in English was Old St. Patrick’s Church on Broadway and Ellicott Streets, Bishop John Timon decided to erect a parish for the Hydraulics residents in their own neighborhood and property was purchased on Emslie and Seymour Sts., on the corner of South Division, in 1853.

A small frame building was quickly erected on the northeast corner of the lot. Originally, it was named St. Vincent dePaul Church. Bishop Timon belonged to the Congregation of the Mission, commonly known as the Vincentian Fathers. The Vincentians (who staff Niagara University in Lewiston) were founded by St. Vincent dePaul, to whom Bishop Timon had a strong devotion. Old St. Patrick’s soon closed, and when the Irish Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province began staffing the church in 1858, the parish became known as St. Patrick’s.

Fr. Angelus O’Connor began the construction of the brown Medina sandstone Gothic structure in 1891, and the church was completed under his successor Fr. Dominic Scanlon. A school was built with the latest conveniences of the time and the Franciscans could be, and were proud of their efforts.

- Buffalo Rising (online April 2014)

These are photographs of two stained glass windows that I own that originated in Buffalo NY. I am trying to find out the studio and artist who manufactured these windows.

The windows are unique because of the "hand faceted" surface on one entire side of the patterned field.

The windows' final location was a rear hallway off the kitchen in St Patrick's Church on Seymour St, which has been razed. My brother is a Franciscan Friar, which is how the windows came into my possession in the mid 70's.

- Jeffrey Schlatter, jffryschlt@aol.com

Church and monastery built:	C. 1891
Architect:	C.K. Porter and Son
Original name:	St. Vincent de Paul
Style:	Gothic Revival
Building material:	Medina sandstone