Decorative drawing: a plain country church with a tall steeple. Not a photograph of this place.

St. Stephen Church

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“In 1834 he removed to Detroit, and practiced there till 1838, when he returned to Cleveland, where he spent the remainder of his professional life, and made himself a high reputation both as a physician and a valuable citizen. His leading traits as a physician were the exercise of benevolence and fearlessness in the performance of his professional duties.”
History of Cuyahoga County Ohio (1870). Machine-read text.

one of 338 National Register listings in Cuyahoga County · listed in 1977 · category: Building · one of 3 National Historic Landmarks in Cuyahoga County.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 1930 W. 54th St., Cleveland, 44102
When was it listed? 1977-11-25
Category. building
Township. Cleveland city
National Register reference number. 77001052 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

23,212 words

The chapter on Cleveland City in History of Cuyahoga County Ohio, published 1870 names Cleveland. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

At the Erie Conference M. EK. Church, in the fall of 1838, resolutions were passed dis approving any expression by the churches on the question of American slavery. This action was received with disfavor by a portion of the members of the church in Cleveland. On September 1, 1839, an organization was effected, consisting of about sixty members, who withdrew from the First Methodist Episcopal Church for that purpose. This new church stood alone until May, 1843. when it sent delegates to a convention held at Utica, New York, and there went into the organization which has ever since been known as the Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America.

Passage source: History of Cuyahoga County Ohio, published 1870.

John W. Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1802. He resided in Chenango county, New York, from 1820 to 1825, when he removed to Cleveland, where he has ever since lived. He was admitted to the bar the next year, and for several succeeding years was engaged in the active practice of his profession.

Passage source: History of Cuyahoga County Ohio, published 1870.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Cleveland City - 23,212 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 2,817 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,817 specimens collected within 10 miles of St. Stephen Church between 1849 and 1975: 2,385 Animalia, 223 Fungi, 126 Plantae, 77 Protozoa, 5 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. D. Huryn, A. D. Selby, A. G. Newhall and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Monilia sitophila (Mont.) Sacc.	1894	Seymour, Arthur Bliss	Cleveland, O. [Ohio]
Osmunda claytoniana L.	1894	Winkler, H.J.	Cleveland.
Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw.	1897	Winkler, H.J.	Woods, Cleveland.
Setophaga americana (Linnaeus, 1758)	1849	Jared P. Kirtland	Rockport
Boraginaceae	1850	not recorded	Cleveland.
Carex canescens L.	1850	Illegible collector name	Cleveland.
Catillaria tricolor (Lam.) Th.Fr.	1854	G. Dixon	Cleveland, Bousdale Hill
Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758)	1854	Robert Kennicott	Cleveland
Abrothallus parmeliarum (Sommerf.) Nyl., 1869	1860	Mudd Wm.	Cleveland
Thryothorus ludovicianus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790)	1860	not recorded	Cleveland
Colaptes auratus luteus Bangs, 1898	1871	Collector(s): unknown	Cleveland
Timmia megapolitana Hedw.	1871	E. N. Claassen

All 2,817 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of St. Stephen Church: 10 unknowns, 6 producers, 3 past producers, 1 plant. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Zirconium, Silica, Halite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
(Facility) Hanna Nickel Smelter/ Cleveland, Oh	Nickel	Plant
Brush Wellman/ Cleveland, Ohio	Beryllium	Producer
Cleveland Mine	Halite	Past Producer	Halite
Cleveland Mine	Salt	Producer
Cuyahoga Lime Company Plant	Calcium	Producer
Dock Number 1, Whiskey Island Mill	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Great Lakes-St Lawrence/ Cleveland	Fluorine-Fluorite	Producer
Mcgean Chemical/ Cleveland, Ohio	Antimony	Unknown
Metallurgical Inc/ Cleveland, Ohio	Iron, Aluminum	Unknown
N. L. Industries	Lead	Unknown

Every working recorded in Cuyahoga County

Storms near this property

60 of 95 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cleveland, the town this property stands in, in 95 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 51 thunderstorm wind, 26 hail, 11 flash flood, 3 lightning. The reports record 3 deaths and 6 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	2 killed, $75,000	During a sailboat race on Lake Erie, two people who were not wearing life preservers, were swept overboard by high waves and drowned. A total of four boats capsized and twelve people were swept overboard.
August 1996	Lightning	Cleveland	1 killed	no account filed
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	3 hurt, $5,000	Thunderstorm wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph blew down two large tents on the west side of Cleveland. Three people inside were injured when the tents collapsed. One person was hospitalized. A peak wind gust of 36 mph was measured at nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
July 1996	Lightning	Cleveland	3 hurt	no account filed
August 2007	Flash Flood	Cleveland	$2,500,000	During the afternoon hours of the 2nd, a severe thunderstorms moved over downtown Cleveland. This thunderstorm remained nearly stationary over the downtown area for around an hour, and dropped as much as four and a half inches of rain. Several rainfall reports of 3.0 to 4.5 inches were received from downtown Cleveland. This rain fell in less than 90 minutes. Local streets and highways throughout the downtown area quickly filled with water. Many roads, including Interstate 90 were impassable by flood waters as much as four feet deep. Many vehicles became stranded in the flood waters. Once the rain ended, the high water receded quickly. This was a very local event in Cuyahoga County as the southern part of the county remained mainly dry. In fact, Cleveland Hopkins Airport did not receive any rainfall from this thunderstorm.
August 1998	Flash Flood	Cleveland	$275,000	Heavy thunderstorm rain caused widespread flooding of roads and low lying areas in Cleveland and surrounding suburbs. In Newburgh Heights, Interstate 77 was flooded with three to four feet of water and an elderly couple had to be rescued from their floating car. Over five inches of rain was measured in some southern and eastern sections as storms repeatedly crossed the area for several hours.
July 2000	Flash Flood	Cleveland	$250,000	Thunderstorms dumped up to three inches of rain on downtown Cleveland during the late afternoon hours. A television station located just east of downtown recorded 2.75 inches of rain in only 48 minutes. Major street flooding occurred and dozens of cars became stuck in water up to four feet deep. Several motorists had to be rescued from their vehicles.
May 2010	Hail	Cleveland	$75,000	Nickel to golf ball sized hail was reported. A few vehicles were damaged.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$64,000	Broadcast media posted a photo on social media of a large tree that fell on a house on the west side of Cleveland. The time was radar estimated. The media also reported 25,000 residents within the metropolitan Cleveland area lost power. One Giant Eagle grocery store had to throw out all of their refrigerated items after losing power. Tree limbs were also reported down on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$50,000	Entire roof was blown-off a building at an auto wrecking facility at the corner of Storer Avenue and West 65th Street in Cleveland.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$50,000	Thunderstorm winds downed many trees and large limbs along the Lake Erie shoreline.
May 2010	Hail	Cleveland	$50,000	Golf ball sized hail was reported. A few vehicles were damaged.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$40,000	Thunderstorm winds downed three large trees in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland. Two of the trees landed on houses causing some damage.
September 2020	Flash Flood	East Cleveland	$35,000	Road eroded by flood waters on Superior Ave and South Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights.
April 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$25,000	Two trees downed in Cleveland Heights. One of these trees fell through a house.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$25,000	Many trees down in Cleveland Heights with some falling on homes and cars. The AWOS at Cuyahoga County Airport reported a wind gust to 58 mph.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in Cleveland.
June 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$25,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
July 2011	Flash Flood	Cleveland	$20,000	Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3.5 inches fell over Cleveland during a span of 60-90 minutes. Citywide flooding resulted as storm water systems were overwhelmed. Many roads including I 480 were flooded and closed for a brief period.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$20,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
June 1996	Flash Flood	Cleveland	$20,000	no account filed
September 2010	Hail	Cleveland	$15,000	Thunderstorms produced half dollar size hail.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$15,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Cleveland and Garfield Heights.
February 2017	Flood	Cleveland	$10,000	The Big Creek in Cuyahoga County (drainage basin 35.3 square miles) cuts through parts of Brooklyn and Cleveland before draining into the Cuyahoga River. On the morning of the 7th radar estimated rainfall amounts between 1.5 and 1.75 inches over the Big Creek basin. Some roads adjacent to the creek were closed. Most notably, the Cleveland Metropark Zoo was closed as water flooded their parking lots and threatened the veterinary clinic and other buildings.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees on the east side of Cleveland.
May 2011	Hail	Cleveland	$10,000	Thunderstorms produced a swath of pea to quarter sized hail.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$10,000	Several trees were reported down.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees on the west side of Cleveland.
August 1996	Lightning	Cleveland	$10,000	no account filed
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$6,000	Large tree limbs were reported down.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$6,000	A few trees and power lines were reported down.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$6,000	Trees were downed.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree on West 119th Street. The tree landed on a car causing some damage.
August 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Several trees were reported down.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees in Cleveland and North Royalton.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed three trees on the west side of Cleveland.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	Trees were downed.
August 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$5,000	no account filed
September 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$4,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$4,000	A few trees were reported down.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$4,000	Several large limbs were reported down.
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$3,000	Local law enforcement reported trees down in Cleveland Heights. Streets impacted include Euclid Avenue, Yellowstone Road, and Hampshire Road.
September 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds snapped a pine tree along Wyatt Road near Forest Hill Park. A couple trees nearby were also downed.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two trees.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$2,000	Tree downed onto vehicle along 2000 block of Lark Street in Lakewood.
May 2004	Hail	Cleveland	$2,000	Quarter size hail was observed.
June 2002	Hail	Cleveland	$2,000	Dime size was observed.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$2,000	Trees were downed.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$1,000	A tree was blown down on a fence on the west side of Cleveland.
August 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$1,000	Several power lines were blown down along with large tree branches.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$1,000	A tree fell on a highway east of downtown Cleveland.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree branches.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
June 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	-	Tree downed in South Euclid.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Cleveland	-	Large tree limbs downed along the Detroit Shoreway in Cleveland. Location estimated.
January 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	-	Three trees downed in Cleveland Heights. Another tree was downed near the corner of Euclid Avenue and Richmond Road.
August 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	-	Numerous trees downed in and near Cleveland Heights.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	-	Two trees downed in Cleveland Heights. One of the trees broke through the roof of a garage.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	East Cleveland	-	Two trees downed along Taylor Road, between East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.

Every storm recorded in Cuyahoga County

Newspapers printed here

0 digitised pages

16 papers published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 0 issues, 0 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

Newspaper	Published
The Cleveland Leader	1865 to 1865
Cleveland Tri-Weekly Leader	1854 to 1885
Siebenbürgisch-Amerikanisches Volksblatt	1917 to 1971
Echo : Wochenblatt Der Vereinigten Deutschen Socialisten Clevelands	1911 to 1920
The Cleveland Gazette	1883 to 1892
The Aliened American	1853 to 18??
Jednoc Polek = Unity of Polish Women	1923 to Current
Enakopravnost	1918 to 1957
Dirva = Field	1915 to Current
America	1905 to Current
Svt = World	1911 to 1939
Cleveland Daily Leader	1865 to 1873
Cleveland Plain Dealer	1885 to 1961
Cleveland Morning Leader	1854 to 1865
The Toiler	1919 to 1922
L'araldo = the Herald	1938 to 1959

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

1,655 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Description of the property

1s a statue of St. Stephen. Set back angle butressing is used throughout the ediface. After the 1953 tornado, the slate roof was replaced. All dormers were removed at marble altar table. The sanctuary floor, like the aisles are made of marble tiling. Several of these were damaged during the tornado, but soon were restored to their original CONDITION UNEXPOSED DETERIORATED UNALTERED FAIR this time. The height of the interior is 75 ft.There are five columns separating the nave from doors are flanked by niches containing statues of the four evangelists.Above the center during the tornado and never replaced.
found grouped symmetrically over the facade.There are three portals.The two smaller wooden statuary.An elaborate oak tabernacle complete with life-size rood stands above the Mexican onyx and brass are the materials used in the altar railing.A free-standing the side aisles. The apse end once held three stained glass windows that were destroyed CHECK ONE ornate Gothic frames l6 ft. in height.The church contains 17 stained glass windows. dagger motif.All columns are surmounted by crocket capitals.
The lancet motif is XEXCELLENT The exterior is made of amherst stone, which was sandblasted after the l953 tornado and XALTERED XORIGINAL SITE beauty.The choir loft contains an 1886 Johnson pipe organ.It was rebuilt in 1935 by are 4o ft.high.The style is Gothic and the floor plan is in the form of a Latin cross. There is a single tower l4o ft.in height. Four pinnacles at the top once had finials is just now turning black.The church is 165 ft.in length and 75 ft.in width.The walls -GOOD RUINS oak pulpit and canopy are located in the crossing of the church.

Read the complete 1,655-word case file.

Statement of significance

sanctuary; installed the following: three altars, pulpit, niches and canopies for statuary, few alterations made from its original design. Father Reichlin, the first pastor, made shows the Baptism of King Windukind, a great Saxon leader. Another window depicts the turn of the century. Proportions such as length and height of nave, placement of windows architectural design, such as domed and vaulted rooms, and Renaissance, Gothic and Islamic INVENTION SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD ECONOMICS EDUCATION ENGINEERING 1400-1499 LAW TRANSPORTATION PREHISTORIC AGRICULTURE RELIGION LITERATURE PHILOSOPHY sure that the church would reflect its' German parish.One of the stained glass windows INDUSTRY Holy Family with a fair complexioned blonde-haired Madonna.
German saints fill niches _EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT XARCHITECTURE _CONSERVATION throughout the church. Architecturally, St. Stephen Church is one of Cudell and Richardson's best religious architecture.Figures and finishings add to the illusion of depth. Christ.Two other angels hold tools that represented the trades of the German immigrants; pinnacles.The most striking attributes of the church are its sculped statuary and St. Stephen Church was built specifically for the influx of Catholic German immigrants. the Stations of the Cross and the rest of the woodwork comprises some of the finest The structure is now the oldest standing German church in Cleveland and has had relatively examples of wood carving in the area.
The church also has some of the most beautiful _COMMUNICATIONS and lighting system installed;1893 -frescoed second time; marble tiling in aisles and apse windows destroyed;1956 -outside statues added;1968-69-Church repainted. _COMMERCE tower at each end of the gabled roof are two sets of unusual replacements for Gothic stained glass of its time.In almost every window, there is a great deal of attention XART was torn off, one section of the framework was shifted 3 ft.

Read the complete 1,655-word case file.

The whole case file for this property - 1,655 words, 12 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 77001052, 12 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Hill, James, House	0.2 miles	1994
Oppmann Terrace	0.4 miles	2012
Joseph and Feiss Clothcraft Shops, The	0.4 miles	2010
Courtland, The	0.4 miles	2000
Kennedy Apartments and Commercial Block	0.5 miles	1989
Harp Apartments	0.5 miles	2000

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 77001052 in Record Group 79.
Cuyahoga County	All 338 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.