Gallery 1: Exterior

Gallery 2: Interior

Church of St. Vincent de Paul

Soulard (central City)
Architects:
M.L. Clark, George Barnett, 1845
Franz Saler, front elevation, 1849

St. Vincent de Paul is the oldest church in an area noted for old buildings. Home to the local arm of the Vincentian Fathers, it was damaged in the tornado of 1896. Six decades later an elevated highway slashed through the neighborhood, sundering the urban fabric and isolating St. Vincent from much of the neighborhood it originally served. The parish, however, continues strong today, with particular emphasis on a mission of service to the needy.

Like nearby St. Mary of Victories (also faced with an invasive freeway across the street), St. Vincent's interior decoration is largely centered around murals and painting, rather than sculptural elements. Fluted columns with original, vaguely Corinthian capitals support much of the space -- though a pair of cast iron columns holding up the balcony speak to the building's vintage.