Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 120: William LaBarthe Steele Part 15: In Memory of St. Casimir Church

Up until a few decades ago there was a need for churches that "catered to", "favored" or were more meant for certain ethnic groups of people. St. Casimir Roman Catholic Lithuanian Church was such a church. I say was because St. Casimir's was closed in 1998 and razed in 2007, But not before it had a long life, profound impact on the congregation in which it served as well as having an interesting history in Sioux City. Here is a sample of St. Casimir's life and how it served it's people;

By 1916 there were over 800 Lithuanians that had settled in the Sioux City area. There were so many Lithuanians they formed their own colony in Sioux City, most lived in what is now called the former South Bottoms area of the city near the former stockyards. Many Lithuanians worked in the stockyards and were hard working people at that. They needed a place of their own to worship. Many of the Lithuanians fled their homeland in search of something better here in the United States which included a place to freely worship how they believed. In 1916 they got their wish. On July 2 before construction was completed the new St. Casimir Lituanian Roman Catholic Church is dedicated by Bishop Garrigan. Designed by William L. Steele, it is the newest church to be built in Sioux City at the time.



St. Casimir's history almost started being recorded from day one. There are records of the first baptism, wedding, etc. that occured at the church. The history has been collected and written by more then one person and up until now in a similar format. Here is an example of that history;










More information and photo's of differant view of outside of St. Casimir's;



Over the years there additions and changes made to the church. A retaining wall had to be built and an outdoor shrine was constructed. This added to the beauty of St. Casimir's.



The inside too had undergone changes. In the 1950's it was beautifully painted.




St. Casimir's served the Lithuanian people well. It provided them a place in which to worship based on their beliefs free from persecution and prosecution that they perhaps would have suffered in their homeland. Even the first priests that worked at St. Casimir's were of Lithuanian decent.



St. Casimir's was closed in 1998 due to a shortage of priests. When it was closed it was 82 years old. The church saw it's people through part of WWI, the Great Depression, all of WWII and several other historical events in the United States. St. Casimir's celebrated 3 milestone anniversaries. A Silver Jubilee, Golden Jubilee and it's 75th Anniversary.












The church did have a rectory or priest's residence and a convent with a kindergarten school in it. The rectory is believed to be designed by William L. Steele but I do not believe the convent/school was. Both are now private residences and the only buildings still standing in Sioux City of the former St. Casimir Church.






The order to close the church could only and did come from the Vatican. But only after being requested by the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. I have seen, but am unable to have a copy of the request letter sent to the Vatican and the response giving permission to close St. Casimir's. I have also seen and again am unable to have a copy of a letter sent by someone to the Vatican asking that the church not be closed. I have also seen, but am unable to have a copy of the letter sent by Bishop Soens giving the order, after receiving permission from the Vatican to close St. Casimir's. Part of the title in the letter sent by Bishop Soens says Suppression, not a word I really like. Prior to the order being give to close the church there was an article in the Sioux City Journal about local churches being an endangered species. I guess they called it right. Some of the church property, statues, pews, etc. was removed and is now being used at other churches. Most of the property still used in other churches are not in Sioux City. Here are copies of articles from the newspaper about local churches being an endangered species as well as the resistance and protest to St. Casimir's closing and the property being donated to other churches. I also have a copy of the Final Liturgy read at the final mass and a copy of the last bulletin about the mass that was held at St. Casimir's;


















William L. Steele not only designed buildings, houses and churches he also designed furniture, at least one piece of furniture. There was a chair, called the Presiders Chair used in St. Casimir's. It is believed to have been moved to the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City. I have been unable to verify it is at the Cathedral or get a photo of it. When I do I will post an update.

After the St. Casimir's closed but before it was torn down it was added to the National Register of Historic Places;
St. Casimir Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church (added 1998 - Building - #98000388)
Also known as St. Casimir Church
2524 Leech Ave., Sioux City
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Babue & Sons, Steele, William L.
Architectural Style: Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Area of Significance: Architecture, European
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Religion
Historic Sub-function: Religious Structure
Current Function: Religion
Current Sub-function: Religious Structure




This is perhaps one of the last photo's taken of the church before it was torn down;


Before St. Casimir's was torn down a time capsule was removed from the churches corner stone, reomved and opened. Inside were coins and documents. The documents are very fragile but I did get a chance to see them. Part of them look like the original roster of the congregation for St. Casimir's.


Here is the empty lot the church once stood on as it looks today;


The only part of the church building that remains in Sioux City is the dome. It is as beautiful as it is large. It is currently stored in a steel company's yard until it is decided what is to be done with the dome. The company that took it down and the steel company both volunteered the man power, equipment and storage of the dome. Ironically the dome was put on the church in July of 1916 and removed in July of 2007. St. Casimir's was torn down later in 2007, it was 92 years old at the time if it's death. A very sad end indeed.

St. Casimir dome finally down

Information about st. Casimir's was obtained through research at the Pearl St. Research Center, the Sioux City Public Library and the Sioux City Catholic Diocese. All digital scans were done from the original source document the diocese loaned to me. Some of the newspaper articles are scans from microfilm using the digital film viewer at the public library. The current photo's of the land the church used to sit on, the former rectory and convent/kindergarten school were taken by me with my digital camera.

No part of this or any blog post, past, present or future may be used with out the express written permission from the blog author. If you wish to use any part of this blog or any blog post please contact the author at; freemasoncyclist@gmail.com

Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 119: William LaBarthe Steele Part 14: More on Steele and the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City

In 2001 a book called Fronties of Faith, by Richard J. Roder was published about the history of the Sioux City Catholic Diocese as well as in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the diocese. In the book there is mention of William L Steele and his relationship with Bishop Philip J Garrigan, Sioux City's first Bishop as well as Steele's continueing work after Bishop Garrigan died.

On page 233 it is mentioned about the recommendation of Steele to the priests of the diocese who were contemplating new churches. It states Steele designed many churches in the diocese and lists the names. Digital scan of the page;


Page 245 talks about Bishop Garrigan's death, the concecration of the second Bishop of Sioux City, Bishop Heelan. It also states that William L. Steele was President of the Rotary Club in Sioux City and he acted as Master of Ceremonies during in regards to Bishop Garrigan's passing. Page 246 mentiones Steele was a pallbearer at Bishop Garrigan's funeral. Digital scans of the pages;



Page 250 talks about William L. Steele continueing his work with the diocese under the leadership of Bishop Heelan. Digital scan of the page;


Page 256 talks about William L. Steele designing the Blessed Sacrament buildings used as a church and school. Digital scan of page;


Page 265 talks about a church in Milford, Iowa Steele designed. The priest sent the plans back and asked for a larger building as he was planning for future expansion of the area. It is a good thing he did. That area of Iowa, known as the Great Lakes region of the state is one of Iowa's top tourist attractions year round. They are very busy and people need a place to worship. Digital scan;


William L. Steele designed buildings in more then just the immediate Sioux City area as you can tell by looking at the scans of the book Frontiers of Faith. When I can I will photograph and post about the buildings outside of Sioux City.

Sioux City History and Culture Part 118: William LaBarthe Steele Part 13: Letter from Bishop Garrigan to William L Steele

Please read this letter first:



This letter was sent from Bishop Garrigan to William L. Steele on March 24, 1915. It was in response to a letter sent by Steele to the Bishop on March 23, 1915 that included some sort of inclosure that was returned back to Steele by the Bishop. As indicated in this section of the letter;

“I have your good note of yesterday with inclosure and I must ask your pardon if I return you that inclosure.”

The question is what was the inclosure and why was it sent to the Bishop? I showed a co-worker of mine the copy of the letter and asked his opinion. He stated and I agree that the inclosure was likely money. That caused even more questions. Was it a donation to the church? Some sort of stipend paid to Bishop Garrigan? Some sort of payment to the Bishop for services rendered by him? Was it a donation made to the diocese itself? I had always thought that donations made to the diocese or church are kept and used as such. If it was a payment to the Bishop directly, whether stipend or otherwise, perhaps that is why it was returned. Then again why didn’t he then donate the money to the diocese? The fact is we honestly do not know and may never know.

This section of the letter states;

“But to accept it would change the main element of my humble act, and deprive me of much pleasure.”

To me this says the Bishop did indeed perform some sort of service for Steele, whether personally or otherwise, and Steele felt compelled to pay the Bishop for it and Bishop Garrigan may have felt guilty if he had accepted the money or payment and to keep his conscience clear he returned it. It also tell me Bishop Garrigan got more satisfaction and much pleasure for doing humble acts, as he states, out of doing something for Steele and his only payment is the personal satisfaction of doing so. Catholic Priests, Bishops, Arch Bishops, Cardinals, the Pope, etc are humble by nature, or at least they are supposed to be, this indicates some of them are honorable as well. The behavior of one can and does reflect on the rest.

The next section of the letter states;

“Let me, in this instance, be the unrewarded instrument of Lod’s light and strength to you, as your business will be for the honor of the church and all of our people. Believe me.”

I think this further reinforces Bishop Garrigan’s humbleness and not wanting to be rewarded in the manner he was by Steele. He is asking Steele to please let him be unrewarded in the manner Steele attempted to award him and that as an instrument of God Bishop Garrigan is there to provide strength and support to him as he likely did for all of his parishioners. He further endorses Steele with stating his business will for the honor of the church and the people of the diocese.

There is also the question of why Steele paid the Bishop. Perhaps it was for some sort of personal service the Bishop performed for Steele. But what? Maybe the Bishop personally baptized one of Steeles children or perhaps some other sort of personal favor. We do not know and may never find out.

This is my educated theory of this letter based on the opinion of one of my co-workers. This is how I interpret the letter. I could be mistaken and will continue to do research on this matter between Steele and Bishop Garrigan and post any updates I find.

Letter is courtesy of the Pearl Rsearch Center. It is a photo copy of their copy that I digitally scanned with my flat bed scanner.

Sioux City History and Culture by Bicycle Part 117: William LaBarthe Steele Part 12: Update: Anatomy of saving a landmark

This is an article form the current issue of the Weekender, a free publication published by the Sioux City Journal.

Williges Returns... Or how to save an old building.

August Williges built it as a fur factory.

Back in 1930.

While the fur brought in the customers, the two-story terra cotta building at 613 Pierce St. kept shoppers safe and sound.

This was not just any terra cotta building, mind you, but one designed by architects George Hilgers and William Steele. The beauty was in the details. Bright white-glazed terra cotta sat on a base of terrazzo, accented by horizontal bands of terra cotta details in geometric and foliage patterns. A cherub-type figure appeared to sit at the top.

The Woodbury County Courthouse, built in 1918, was Steele’s first Prairie School-style commercial building in Sioux City, and the Williges, built in 1929, was his last.

By 1998 the fur and women’s apparel store started all those decades back in 1895 closed. A neighbor, Security National Bank, purchased the property. Then, in 2007, the bank decided the lot would be more valuable as parking lot, the unoccupied and crumbling building would be better off torn down.

This is the story of how a 79-year-old created by a noted architect was almost lost forever.

Jan. 9, 2007

Security National Bank announces plans to demolish the historic Williges Building to clear the way for new 65-stall surface parking lot at Seventh and Pierce streets. The bank, owner of the Williges building since 1998, anticipates an April start.

Jan. 17, 2007

SiouxLandmark, a private nonprofit preservation group, announces plans to submit the Williges nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Listing in the National Register will not halt demolition plans, but can make building owners eligible for special tax breaks to improve properties.

May. 14, 2007

Paul Davis Restoration files for a demolition operation permit with the city’s Inspection Services Division to begin destruction of the Williges Building.

May. 17, 2007

Representatives from the State Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office, SiouxLandmark and Downtown Partners join organizers George Wakeman and Cindy Waitt in front of City Hall to protest the demolition.

May. 22, 2007

Demolition permits issued to Security National Bank and Paul Davis Restoration are rescinded at the request of the bank’s engineering firm.

May. 23, 2007

Security National Bank senior vice president Dave Holub announces the Williges building is for sale, and developers interested in purchasing the building have until June 25 to sign an agreement.

June 1, 2007

Security National Bank refiles for demolition permits, keeping the demolition option open should negotiations to sell the building fail.

June 5, 2007

The Historic Preservation Commission moves to enact a 30-day delay on the demolition of the Williges building. This means Security National Bank will be fined by the city if they tear down the building within 30 days.

June 25, 2007

As the bank’s June 25 sale deadline hits, Holub announces talks continue between Security National Bank and two local developers over the future of the Williges building. No decision is reached.

July 11, 2007

Williges demolition permits expire.

July 17, 2007

A press conference is held to announce the Williges Building has been purchased by an unnamed local developer, who will renovate the property. Loud applause follows the announcement from a smiling crowd of about 40 to 50 onlookers.

Aug. 31, 2007

The Williges Building is officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Sept. 17, 2007

Two mysteries are solved. First, the previously unidentified commercial developer behind saving the Williges building is revealed as Bart Connelly, a veteran of historic restoration projects. Second, it’s announced Sioux City law firm Vriezelaar Tigges Edgington Bottaro Boden & Ross LLP plans to lease the entire first floor of the three-story structure.

January 2009

The law firm of Vriezelaar Tigges Edgington Bottaro Boden & Ross LLP moves into the downtown building, culminating an over year-long renovation project. About 7,500 square feet remain for lease on both the second and third floors of the newly-renovated building.

Source