St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Millvale, Pennsylvania)

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Coordinates: 40°28′37.36″N 79°58′10.88″W / 40.4770444°N 79.9696889°W / 40.4770444; -79.9696889
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Not to be confused with St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Troy Hill, Pennsylvania).
St. Nicholas Croatian Church
St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Millvale, Pennsylvania) is located in Pennsylvania
St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Millvale, Pennsylvania)
St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Millvale, Pennsylvania) is located in the United States
St. Nicholas Croatian Church (Millvale, Pennsylvania)
Location24 Maryland Ave., Millvale, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°28′37.36″N 79°58′10.88″W / 40.4770444°N 79.9696889°W / 40.4770444; -79.9696889
Built1922
ArchitectFrederick C. Sauer (1860–1942)
NRHP reference No.80003404[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 6, 1980
Designated PHLF1979[2]

St. Nicholas Croatian Church is a Roman Catholic church in Millvale, Pennsylvania, US within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is noted for its murals by Maxo Vanka,[3] painted in 1937 and 1941, such as Immigrant Mother Raises Her Sons for American Industry[4] and The Capitalist.[5][6] Time in 1937 described the murals as "one of the few distinguished sets of church murals in the U. S."[7]

St. Nicholas remains an active parish church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh as of 2023. In 2019 it was reorganized as a personal (non-territorial) parish within the Shrines of Pittsburgh, a grouping of six churches with unique histories which the diocese hoped to promote as pilgrimage and visitor destinations.[8]

Altar of the St Nicholas Catholic Church in Millvale, PA, USA, painted by Maxo Vanka

History[edit]

The church was established in 1900 following an acrimonious split from the similarly named St. Nicholas Croatian Church about 2 miles (3.2 km) downriver on East Ohio Street in Troy Hill.[9] The cornerstone was laid for the new church in July 1900[10] and it was completed in November of the same year. The building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Pittsburgh architect Frederick C. Sauer and cost about $34,000 in total.[11] Andrew Carnegie donated a pipe organ which was installed in 1902.[12][13]

In 1921, the church burned down, believed to be the result of arson.[14] Sauer was again contracted to prepare plans for a replacement church, which was basically a pared-down version of his original design.[15] This current church building was dedicated on May 30, 1922.[11]

After the rebuilding of the church, the parish had a debt of almost $100,000. The pastor of the other St. Nicholas parish in Troy Hill, Albert Zagar, had been successful in clearing the debt there, so in 1931 he was transferred to St. Nicholas in Millvale. By 1937, he had paid off most of the debt and decided to put some money toward decorating the church. Seeking an artist who would understand the cultural background of the parish, he approached the well connected Slovene-American writer Louis Adamic, who recommended his friend Maksimilijan "Maxo" Vanka. Vanka, a former professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, had struggled to find work since immigrating to the United States and happily accepted the commission to create murals for the church.[13]

Vanka painted the first set of murals from April to June, 1937, working every day until 2 or 3 in the morning. During this time, he became convinced that the church was haunted by a ghostly, black-robed figure, which Adamic later wrote about in a piece for Harper's Magazine titled The Millvale Apparition. Nevertheless, he completed the murals on schedule.[16] Although Vanka had "upset tradition in his introduction of labor scenes... within the sacred precincts of a church", the murals were met with acclaim from the press as well as church officials.[17][7] As a result, Vanka was invited back to complete a second set of murals in 1941.[15]

The later murals were dedicated on November 16, 1941.[18] With World War II then raging in Europe, these murals featured much more overtly anti-war subject matter than the earlier ones.[13] With the completion of the full set of murals, the Pittsburgh Press wrote that the artwork would "put [the church] near the top of the 'must list' of places to see in the Pittsburgh district",[19] while the Sun-Telegraph wrote that Vanka and Zagar were "tossing the dogmas of religious art into the ash-can".[20] Vanka himself described the murals as "my contribution to America".[18]

Murals[edit]

A total of 25 fresco murals by Maxo Vanka are painted on the apse, walls, and ceiling of the church, covering a total area of approximately 4,500 square feet (420 m2).[21] Vanka painted the first set of murals in 1937 and added the rest in 1941. The subject matter of the murals includes a combination of traditional religious imagery and social themes related to the Croatian American experience, such as war, injustice, and exploitation of workers.[13]

Injustice mural

The apse and ceiling vaults are decorated in the Byzantine tradition, with an image of Mary, Queen of Heaven, above the altar and depictions of the Ascension of Jesus and the Four Evangelists on the ceiling. Elsewhere, Vanka included scenes from the Old and New Testaments, images of saints, and scenes depicting the Croatian immigrant experience such as Immigrant Mother Raises Her Sons for American Industry, in which a group of Croatian women mourn over a young man killed in a mining accident. Other murals include allegorical depictions of injustice and inequality in America, such as The American Capitalist, in which a wealthy businessman sits before an elaborate meal while ignoring a beggar, and Injustice, which depicts a hooded figure wearing a gas mask and holding a scale in which a loaf of bread is outweighed by gold. Vanka also included strong anti-war imagery, such as a crucified Jesus being pierced by a World War I soldier's bayonet, and the Virgin Mary breaking a soldier's rifle.[13]

An additional mural behind the altar was created by a different artist, Joko Knezevich, in 1970.[13]

The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka conducts guided tours of the murals on a regular basis.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  3. ^ "Home". vankamurals.org.
  4. ^ http://vankamurals.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MuralsLG_1545.jpg Archived 2017-03-17 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL image file]
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2018-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ Petrucelli, Alan W. (2008). "A fresh look: Viewing Vanka murals a religious experience". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (July 14). Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  7. ^ a b "Art: Millvale Murals". Time. July 19, 1937. ISSN 0040-781X.
  8. ^ Kirkland, Kyle (May 20, 2019). "Grouping of 5 shrines aims to draw Catholics, visitors". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Clippings of the first page and second page via Newspapers.com. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "Millvale Croatian Church Dedication". Pittsburgh Press. February 4, 1900. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "New Croatian R. C. Church". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. July 23, 1900. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "St. Nicholas: History & Mission". Shrines of Pittsburgh. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Dedicated Organ at Millvale". Pittsburgh Post. July 28, 1902. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: St. Nicholas Croatian Church". National Archives Catalog. National Park Service. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  14. ^ "Millvale Church Destroyed by Fire". Pittsburgh Post. March 27, 1921. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Parish". Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  16. ^ McMahon, Perry R. (March 20, 1938). "Artist Did See 'Something,' Millvale Priest Declares". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Naylor, Douglas (June 12, 1937). "Church Murals Portrays Lives of Immigrants". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b Breig, Joseph A. (November 16, 1941). "Life and Death Portrayed in Church Murals". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Naylor, Douglas (November 17, 1941). "Yugoslavian Artist Uses Sparrow as Alarm Clock". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Kubly, Herbert (September 7, 1941). "Artist Toils Tirelessly on Paintings in Church". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Vanka Murals". Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  22. ^ "Tour the Vanka Murals". Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka. Retrieved December 5, 2022.

External links[edit]

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