Loring Park: Basilica and Churches

Loring Park: Basilica and Churches. . , Construction on the Basilica of Saint Mary, 88 North 17th Avenue, began in 1907. It is the country's first Basilica and acts as an anchoring landmark on the north side of Loring Park., The church was planned by French architect Emmanuel Masqueray, who also designed the St. Paul Cathedral. This Beaux Arts classic is built of Minnesota granite with a 187 foot-high dome. The interior is filled with a splendid variety of church art, statues, frescoes and stained glass., Other churches surrounding Loring Park which enliven the urban landscape are Cathedral Church of Saint Mark, 519 Oak Grove Street, and Hennepin Avenue Methodist Church, 525 Groveland Avenue., [Photo captions read] , Basilica of St. Mary, Sixteenth and Hennepin Avenue, circa 1925 , Hennepin Methodist Church, circa 1939, Image Sources: From the Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Basilica of St. Mary, Sixteenth and Hennepin, Minneapolis, Photograph Collection 7/25/1925. Stained glass window in Hennepin Methodist Church, Minneapolis, Photographer: Norton and Peel, Photograph Collection 5/17/1939. Text Source: In the Shadow of the City, A History of the Loring Park Neighborhood.