sketchclub.net: The El Paso Sketch Club: 1916 Holy Family Catholic Church

The Holy Family Catholic Church was established in approximately 1889 at a Church building located at 617 N. Oregon, at the intersection of Wyoming. In 1915 the Church wanted to reach out to refugees fleeing the Mexican Revolution, and decided to sell the old building and erect a new one. This was to serve two purposes: 1. to help finance the erection of the St. Patrick's Cathedral; and 2. to create a Church that could be a refuge for people from Juarez and the rest of Chihuahua escaping the ravages of war.

The location of the new building and Church, which was the final Church established by Fr. Charles Pinto and located at 900 W Missouri, was chosen because it would afford a view of the refugee's homeland in Mexico. Including this one, Pinto had established 14 Churches between the years of 1892 and 1916.

The old Church building was sold to Richard Ainsa, Mrs. Isabel Flato and Charles Pomeroy for $26,000. The old structure was left to languish, and in April of 1917 was set afire accidentally by boys playing nearby. Severely damaged by the fire, it sat for another two years until Pomeroy finally demolished it and cleared the land. The site of the old Church is where the Holocost Museum is today.

The new Church was built by contractor J.E. Morgan at a cost of $10,000. The remaining funds from the sale of the old building went towards the erection of St. Patrick's. We are unable to find documentation naming the architect, however the Colonial style and the Corinthian pillars strongly suggest either Trost & Trost or the firm of Gibson & Robertson -- and of the two we would lean towards the latter, because Trost buildings of this stature are well documented. The only other period El Paso architect that would design a building like this would be Otto Thorman; however he was in El Paso for only 4 years when construction began and his business may not have been established well enough for consideration. Nevertheless, it is a stately and handsome building even today. The interior of the building is immaculately maintained by the Church.

The building was dedicated by Bishop Anthony Schuler on the 17th of September, 1916. Judging by content at the Church's website and Facebook page, it remains wholeheartedly dedicated to its Mission today.

Visit the Holy Family website at https://holyfamilyep.org/ and their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/holyfamilyep.

********************

Text, research and modern photography provided to Sketchclub.net by Mark Stone, citing period newspaper articles accessed through newspapers.com, and City Directory entries accessed through the UNT Digital Repository at https://texashistory.unt.edu/. Also citing:

-- The Holy Family Catholic Church website, "History of Holy Family Catholic Church in El Paso Texas", staff, https://holyfamilyep.org/2018/01/03/first-blog-post/

-- El Paso Times, 09/16/2016, Maria Cortez Gonzalez, "Holy Family Catholic Church has 100th Anniversary", https://www.elpasotimes.com/.../holy-family.../90416712/