West 65th Street and Colgate Avenue, Cleveland; erected 1914-1918, dedicated 1918. Neoclassical

Exterior: Thick blocks of Indiana limestone (Salem Limestone), dressed in drove-work and set in uniform courses, were used for the exterior of St. Colman Church. The sculptures of the lion, winged ox, angel, eagle, and lamb on the front (west) side of the church are also Indiana limestone. Many fossils are visible in this stone. The front steps are gray granite; side steps are Indiana limestone.

Interior: Flooring and the wall border along the floor of the narthex includes Verde Antique marble, a mottled red marble, and a light gray marble with dark gray streaks. A mottled gray, light purple, and white marble is used for narthex wainscoting and door frames. The wainscoting is a fine-grained, white Vermont marble (Martin, 1928, p. 67) with greenish gray streaks (veins). Verde Antique is used around the floor and heating vents. The floor of the aisles is the same as in the narthex. The flooring of the nave is terrazzo. Stations of the cross are framed in a red-and-white alabaster. The baptismal font is white true marble with supporting columns made of red and green marbles. The green stone is Connemara marble, an ophicalcite, a metamorphic rock composed of calcite and serpentine minerals, the latter of which give it a green color. There is also a rectangle of Verona marble embedded in the floor in front. The pulpit is white marble, with pillars of green onyx mottled with white and gold. Steps to the communion railing are Verde Antique. The communion railing is a white true marble and has several supporting pillars of onyx marble, varying in color from white to gold to light green. Sanctuary flooring is a marble mosaic. The marble is of several types, including red Verona marble, Siena marble, a white marble, and a green marble. The original main altar is white Carrara marble (Martin, 1928, p. 69) with inset rectangles and figures of Siena marble, a mottled red marble, an orange-colored marble, and onyx marble. The side altars are white marble with insets of golden and yellow-colored marble and onyx. The statues of St. Helen and St. Ann to the sides of the altar are made of white marble carved by a statuary company in Pietrasanta, Italy.

Remarks: According to a booklet (Anonymous, 1980) published on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the parish, the original main altar, communion railing, pulpit, and stations of the cross were fabricated in Dublin, Ireland. This was of special significance for the Irish parishioners.

References: Martin, 1928; Anonymous, 1980.

Go to: next section / previous section /main index