St. Mary's Church (Beaverville, Illinois)
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St. Mary's Church
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St. Mary's Church, Beaverville, IL
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| Location | 308 St. Charles Avenue Beaverville, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 40°57′8″N 87°39′9″W / 40.95222°N 87.65250°WCoordinates: 40°57′8″N 87°39′9″W / 40.95222°N 87.65250°W |
| Area | 15 acres (6.1 ha) |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | Joseph Molitor |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Renaissance |
| NRHP reference # | 96000514 |
| Added to NRHP | May 2, 1996 |
St. Mary's Catholic Church, known as the "Prairie Cathedral" or the "Cathedral of the Cornfields", is a Roman Catholic church in Beaverville, Illinois. The Romanesque Revival church was built in 1909–1911. The church features two towers and a tiled dome roof; it is both the tallest and most prominent landmark in Beaverville. In 1996, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Prominent Chicago church architect Joseph Molitor designed the church in the Romanesque Revival style. The church was built using limestone blocks with a rough cut exterior. The church has an "L"-shaped plan with a small wing in the back forming the leg. The building is both the tallest structure in Beaverville and the most visible landmark in the village.
The church's main entrance is located on its west side; the three sets of double doors are each topped by a stained glass transom. A pair of four-story towers are located on either side of the entrance. The third and fourth floors of each tower are open with pilasters framing the arched openings; balustrades run along the third-floor apertures, while the fourth-floor openings feature keystones and classical cornices. Triangular pediments are situated atop both towers.
The center of the church includes an octagonal section topped by a dome roof. The roof is composed of red French clay tiles. Each side of the octagon is 52 feet (16 m) long with a 32 feet (9.8 m) base. A small flat octagonal section at the top of the dome is fenced off by an iron railing. Seven secondary gable roofs cover the other parts of the church, while a smaller octagon tops the wing; these other roofs are also shingled with red tiles. Roughly 22,000 tiles were used to construct the church's roofs.
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