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St. Ignatius of Antioch Roman Catholic Church

10205 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland; constructed 1925-1930. Romanesque.

Exterior: Pillars at the main entrance are polished light bluish-gray granite. Some crystals of feldspar in the columns are iridescent blue. The front and side steps are also bluish-gray granite, but with a rougher finish. The stone is Lake Placid blue granite, quarried in Jay, New York. Exterior facing is Bedford limestone (Salem Limestone) set in ashlar courses. Sinuous trace fossils can be seen at various places in this limestone. Large geometric inset panels on the exterior of the church, above the level of the windows, are made from various types of marble, including Siena marble and Verde Antique.

Interior: The narthex has flooring of purple slate and several marbles, including a cream-colored, fossiliferous limestone and Red Levanto marble. The old baptistery has a doorway of Red Levanto and wainscoting of Red Verona with inlaid designs of Red Levanto. The flooring of the aisles is a cream-colored fossiliferous limestone, but also features a light red variety of Verona marble (a limestone quarried from Jurassic age lower red ammonitic rocks in the Verona area of Italy), wainscoting of light Red Verona marble, inlaid blocks of Black and Gold (Portoro) marble, and inlaid borders of Red Levanto. The baptismal font is Yellow Verona marble, a burrowed yellow limestone. This stone consists of lighter-colored nodules in a darker matrix. Large fossil ammonites can be found in portions of the wainscoting. The large pillars are breccia, and include one stone with white clasts and gray streaks that may be Pavanatzo marble, as well as Red Levanto marble. Others may be Biolet Breccia and Jialo Mori marble. The holy water fonts are Yellow and Red Verona marble. The sanctuary floor is a cream-colored limestone. The original main altar, side altars, and communion rails are Yellow Siena marble. The baptismal font is Red Verona marble. Aisles are mostly a cream-colored limestone with inlaid rectangular blocks of Red Verona and borders of Red Levanto.

Remarks: There were problems with the stone and poor patching is visible on several pillars. There is a possibility that some of these pillars are antique (see St. James Roman Catholic Church).

References: Anonymous, 1953.

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From the Center for Sacred Landmarks monograph: Guide To Stones Used for Houses of Worship in Northeastern Ohio (December, 1999) by . Joseph T. Hannibal. Published by the Sacred Landmarks Partnership of Northeast Ohio


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