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St.
Augustine's Catholic Church, located in Austin, Nevada, is
Nevada's oldest Catholic church building (1866) and also one
of its finest.
The
church is located on a prominent hill in Austin’s narrow canyon.
Its stately appearance is compelling and dominates the town
with a strong historic aura. The wood and tin clad spire rises
seventy five feet making the structure seem very tall with
its narrow Gothic Revival style. Built into the hillside on
solid granite, both the bricks and granite used in construction
were from the old Austin quarry and brickyard that flourished
in the 1800’s.
The
interior retains many early features including grained pews,
Gothic confessionals, and a decoratively painted nine rank
Henry C. Kilgen pipe organ in a Gothic case. In 1939 the
parish hired Rafael Jolly to paint murals for the interior,
and the vibrantly colored scenes of events in the lives
of Christ and St. Augustine are today the building's artistic
highlight.
The
church was sold to a private part who formed a non-profit
organization to restore and renovate the structure
St.
Augustine’s will eventually house a cultural and arts center
for the community of Austin and Central Nevada. Activities
will include artist workshops, historic presentations and
dramas, docent tours, local art shows, music presentations,
and permanent collections and exhibits of Austin and central
Nevada.
We
look forward to hosting weddings and family celebrations.
The main level of the church with its twenty four foot ceiling
lends itself to all types of performances and assemblies.
Pews can accommodate over two hundred persons, and the former
altar area is on a stage-sized platform. A sacristy off the
platform is ideal as a staging/dressing room. The church has
two very large rooms on the lower level with a bank of floor
to ceiling windows facing south. The rooms are suitable for
classes, workshops, and gatherings.
St.
Augustine’s is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, the Nevada Register of Historic Places and is a 501(c)3
non-profit organization. Donations are gratefully accepted
to help save this wonderful structure and piece of history.
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