Monday, April 27, 2009

St. Andrew Catholic Church, Tennyson, WI

I must apologize for the major lack of posts over the past several months. So, thanks for hanging in there! I've been very occupied with the renovation of the West Point Community Theatre, as well as our recent production of the musical "Back to the 80s."

Needless to say, I've had very little time to go "Steeplechasing." However, I do have extensive archives, and I'll likely be pulling posts from these for a little while. This particular batch is from a trip I made to eastern Iowa / western Wisconsin this past summer. Enjoy!


Tennyson, WI is located about 20 minutes north of Dubuque, IA. The town itself has 370 residents, however the city limits are nearly indistinguishable from nearby Potosi, which numbers 711. This particular area of Wisconsin and Iowa is heavily populated by Catholics (mostly German) - and a number of very impressive churches.

St. Andrew's is a much simplified version of a Neo-Romanesque style of architecture. This leads the individual elements of the church to stand out more eloquently, such as the high and side altars.

Note the pressed tin ceiling.

A closeup of the high altar & sanctuary. The center niche is occupied by the patron of the parish, St. Andrew, holding his traditional instrument of martyrdom, the "upside down" cross.

A detail of the St. Isidore (patron of farmers) statue in the high altar. Notice that he is holding an early 20th century plow. St. Isidore has long been a favorite of mine, and I'd have to say this is one of the most creative and interesting interpretations of him that I've seen!

The altar of Our Lady. The side altars in this church are unusually slender and tall.

The Baptismal font. The top of the font has been refashioned into an ambry for the holy oils.

The church cemetery, directly across the street features several grottos.

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