Saint Joseph's Catholic Church

From WakWiki

St. Joseph's Catholic Church is located at the corner of Albion and Tuttle Streets on the West Side near the railroad tracks. A chapel was first built here in 1852 and was dedicated as the Church of St. Mary's on August 18, 1854. Because of the growing number of Catholics, plans were drawn up in 1870 to build a church to seat 800 people and the original church was moved to Murray Street and became known as Lyceum Hall, and later as St. Joseph's Hall. In November 1871 the new church opened with a front entrance on Albion Street. The Church of St. Mary's, which was previously considered a mission, became a full parish and was renamed St. Joseph's Church in 1873. A rectory was later built on the corner of Gould and Albion Streets. Over a period of 16 years, the church was moved closer to the railroad tracks, the nave was extended, the spire was erected, the entrance was changed to Tuttle Street, and a basement was added. The new church, officially dedicated in November 1890, cost $30,000 and had a seating capacity of 1,200. The church was completely gutted by fire on March 24, 1977. Parishioners attended Mass at the Wakefield Junior High School until the church was rebuilt and dedicated on June 27, 1980. Today the church is in the same location, with a more modern, elliptically shaped church interior.

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