Saint Anthony Catholic Church
Menomonee Falls, WisconsinEstablished in 1867, St. Anthony Catholic Parish has seen constant growth, which led the parish to complete a facilities master plan, addressing the need for additional worship, gathering and support spaces as well as additional parking. The design challenge was how to preserve the iconic tower and stone facades that helped make the church a landmark at its prominent location in the community. The idea developed to keep the tower, the front and graveyard stone facades, and the back apse, then insert a new, larger worship space within the shell and reclaim stone from the demolished walls for use in the new structure. The pre-civil war stonework was cleaned and exposed on the interior of this new space, allowing parishioners to see the texture, natural color and craftsmanship of the ancient stones. This innovative approach allowed the church to remain a community landmark and maintain its beautiful historic character while tripling in size, of its seating capacity to 1000.