St. Alphonsus Liguori, 1875

From Leaves from the history of St. Alphonsus's Church (1895) comes this photograph of the church prior to the addition of its steeple in the 1890s.

From Dry's Pictorial St. Louis (1875) comes this spliced image of two plates, showing St. Alphonsus Liguori in its earliest days. Note the lack of characteristic spire and no rock wall surrounding the building.

Interesting fact about St. Alphonsus: according to the Leaves from the history of St. Alphonsus's Church (1895), the altar was centered over one of the abundant Native American mounds that once dotted the St. Louis landscape. The mound was leveled to make way for the church.