| Saint Ignatius Loyola Church | |
| Location: | 703 E. Houghton Ave., Houghton, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | 47.1206°N -88.5647°W |
| Built: | 1898 |
| Architect: | E. Brielmaier & Sons |
| Architecture: | Gothic |
| Added: | August 3, 1987 |
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Refnum: | 87001261 |
| Designated Other1 Name: | Michigan State Historic Site |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | MSHS |
| Designated Other1 Link: | Michigan State Historic Preservation Office |
| Designated Other1 Date: | December 8, 1977 |
| Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
| Designated Other1 Color: | CornflowerBlue |
Saint Ignatius Loyola Church is a church located at 703 East Houghton Avenue in Houghton, Michigan. The church was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1977 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Early Roman Catholics living in Houghton met for worship first in a boarding house and later in a school.[1] Bishop Frederic Baraga, then located in L'Anse, Michigan, spearheaded efforts to build a new church.[2] Ground was broken for the new church in early 1859, and on July 31, 1859, Bishop Frederic Baraga dedicated the original St. Ignatius Loyola Church.[2]
Beginning in 1859, a long list of priests were assigned to the church, all of whom served for only a short time.[2] However, in 1895, Father (later Monsignor) Antoine Ivan Rezek was appointed pastor to the parish.[1] In the late nineteenth century, the Keweenaw Peninsula had seen an explosive growth due to the local copper mining industry, and a substantial, ethnically diverse population of Catholics had taken up residence in the Houghton area.[1] One of Rezik's first priorities was the erection of a new church. Rezek hired the Milwaukee architectural firm of E. Brielmaier & Sons to design the church; Brielmaier designed a number of Catholic churches in the western Upper Peninsula in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[1] Construction on this building began in 1898, and the church was finished in 1902.[1] Anton Ivan Rezek remained as pastor of the church for a total of 51 years, until 1946.[2]
Three significant additions to the building were made in later years: a boxy, glassed-in portico, added in 1928, a rear addition, added between 1959 and 1964, and a connected building added in 1991–1992.[1] [2] Further interior renovations were made in 1959 and in the late 1980s.[2]
St. Ignatius Loyola Church is an imposing Neo-Gothic structure located on the hillside above downtown Houghton.[1] It is constructed of red, Jacobsville sandstone with a symmetrical gabled facade centering on a square tower topped with a spire. The tower belfry contains a single brass bell, cast in 1860 by the Jones and Hitchcock Company of Troy, New York.[1]
Stained glass windows, created by Gavin Art Glass Works of Milwaukee, were installed in the church in 1907. An elaborate Gothic altar adorns the nave.[1]