February 2026.
Out in Old Oaks on Columbus’s southeast side is the former Saint John the Evangelist Church, an imposing brick Gothic Revival building. It had the typical decline after white flight and municipal divestment, eventually resulting in the congregation leaving the church building entirely. It presently sits abandoned and is threatened with demolition.
Holy Rosary-St. John is located at 648 South Ohio Avenue (the school is at 640 S Ohio) in the Old Oaks neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by houses to the north and east, Newton Street to the south, and Ohio Avenue to the west.
Saint John the Evangelist Church History
Pontifical College Josephinium, the original home of St. John’s. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Saint John the Evangelist Church was founded in 1897 by Fr. Simon Weisinger, formerly of St. Augustine’s in New Straitsville. The congregation was established to serve the growing number of German Catholics who moved from German Village to the near east and southeast side, which was partially a result of Pontifical College Josephinium’s founding at Main and 17th Street in Olde Towne East, and also a product of the smelly breweries and the open sewer that was the Scioto River at the time. Old Oaks was also growing rapidly as a streetcar suburb of Columbus at the time with the newly electrified streetcars in 1893. St. John’s first Mass was held at the college on January 22, 1898, and it continued to be held there until their own church building was completed.
A rendering of the church and rectory. (Diocese of Columbus)
St. John’s church building is a Gothic Revival design by Akron architect William P. Ginther (it seems like most sources erroneously credit David Riebel), which uses “rock-faced vitrified brick” on the exterior. The interior had frescoes on the ceiling and side walls. The site was purchased in February 1898, and ground was broken that May. Its cornerstone was laid by bishop John Watterson on July 3, 1898. The church was dedicated on September 24, 1899, and its rectory was completed that December. The church’s large organ required the choir loft to be redesigned.
A view of the complex as it appeared on the 1921-1961 Sanborn map. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
St. John’s school was founded in 1905, and Columbus architect David Riebel designed the current Gothic Revival school building with the same brick as the church and rectory. 150 students were enrolled in its first year, which grew to 400 by 1918. Later, a Modern parish center was built across Ohio Avenue in 1959.
The congregation remained populated through the 1960s, with over 2,000 members, but this number had dwindled to just 300 by 1972. This led the church to merge its school with the nearby congregations of St. Dominic and Holy Rosary. Another controversy was the opening of a rehab center next to the school in the former convent by the Black power organization Blackman’s Community Development Center in 1971. The St. John Community Center, which still operates, was established in the former school building in 1971 as well. In 1973, the church underwent major renovations, resulting in the removal of most of the pews, statues, and painting the interior walls white.
St. John’s went on to merge with Holy Rosary Church in 1979, but before we continue with that history, let’s start over with Holy Rosary’s history.
Holy Rosary Church History
The original Riebel-designed church as seen in the 1950s. (Diocese of Columbus)
Like St. John’s, Holy Rosary was likewise founded for nearby German Catholics who found it easier to attend Mass at nearby St. Vincent Orphan Asylum’s chapel instead of the far-away St. Joseph Cathedral, St. Patrick’s, or Holy Cross. The congregation was established on May 1, 1905, and its first pastor was Fr. Francis Howard. The parish acquired a site at Mound Street and Seymour Avenue that year and commissioned David Riebel to design a school building for temporary church use, which was completed in 1906. The church’s rectory is a Federal-style I-house from 1845, known as the Moses Seymour House, and it was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
1917 photo of the church from Architectural Forum. (NRHP listing)
A new, larger church was commissioned in 1913 by the parish at the corner of Seymour and Main Street, and the larger Romanesque Revival building was designed by Eaton architect Harvey H. Heistand (who also founded Miami University’s architecture program) and Gordon & Kaelber, modeled after the Basilica of Santo Stefano in Bologna and the Cathedral of Siena. Apparently, Fr. Howard would inspect the construction process from afar wearing opera glasses, even stepping in himself if he felt that the masons were not laying the bricks properly. The church was dedicated on February 2, 1916, opening for public Mass three weeks later on February 27. As the east side lacked a Catholic school at the time, Heistand was retained to design a school building, which was completed a decade later.
Renovated interior of the church. (Diocese of Columbus)
Holy Rosary’s interior was renovated in 1952, which added Renaissance Revival columns and a baldachin inside. A convent at the church opened in 1953, designed by Louis Karlsberger. However, enrollment at the school had declined just a decade later, forcing it to close in 1966. David Riebel’s church building, which remained in use as a school, was demolished in 1973.
Holy Rosary-St. John History
Holy Rosary’s interior as seen during its use by Rock of Faith. (Wikimedia)
In June 1979, Holy Rosary and St. John were merged. This was due to several factors, namely I-70’s construction right through Olde Towne East and its subsequent effects on the urban landscape, white flight, and the decaying Holy Rosary building. Most of the families left in the neighborhoods were Black Protestants. By May 1979, just 75 people attended Mass at Holy Rosary. After the merger, Mass was held at St. John’s, and the former Holy Rosary building was sold to Rock of Faith Baptist Church in 1983.
In attempts to respond to the new neighborhood demographics, Holy Rosary-St. John began performing Gospel music at Mass in the mid-1980s, which did increase attendance about twofold. By the end of that decade, the congregation was 70% Black.
Despite repairs to the church such as a $67,000 repair of the choir loft and rose window in 2011 and $35,000 worth of new lighting, Holy Rosary-St. John was ultimately merged with St. Dominic’s in Mt. Vernon. Again, the cited reasons were low attendance and deterioration of the church building. The community center continues to operate, but the church was deconsecrated on January 21, 2026, and it is at risk of demolition. It is one of Columbus Landmarks’ Most Endangered Places.
Rock of Faith Baptist, located in the old Holy Rosary building, had been doing better but sold the building in 2021. They operated several successful community initiatives to address the inequality residents face on the Near East Side. However, the main church building closed in the 2010s due to disrepair, and it was likewise deemed a Most Endangered Place in 2018. It was eventually purchased by a developer for conversion into a performance space in 2022, and the complex of buildings associated with the church were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. Unfortunately, the old high school has since been demolished in June 2026.
Photos
These photos focus exclusively on the former St. John’s building. Holy Rosary was far out of my way and I didn’t learn about it until fairly late, so I opted to skip it entirely.
Anyways, this is one of the spookier-looking Gothic Revival churches I’ve seen thus far. Its sharply pointed twin towers thrust vertically into the air like some sort of medieval torture instruments, and its dark masonry appeared almost black in the shadow.
It is modeled after French Gothic architecture, but for a similar visual effect at an even crazier scale, check out Cologne Cathedral. That is my current “grail” of buildings to see in person.
The west facade, interestingly facing the proper direction as dictated in medieval Gothic architecture, is entirely symmetrical:
It has triple portals for entrance to the church’s nave (currently boarded up), a large rose window at center, and two identical towers with buttressing and pinnacles. Much of the church uses that rusticated glazed brick, but some of the details are executed in stone.
Each door is surrounded by a recessed vaulted portal, and they are all crowned with a wimperg (gable form) above. The transom windows are still intact and two are better visible without the protective plastic sheeting in front.
This masonry seemed to be getting nastier with age and the effects of the weather, which seems to be amplified by this grumpy grotesque between the two arches:
The stonework above was looking particularly threadbare, as one of the pinnacles had already cracked off and the balustrade was heavily chipped:
The rose window was foggy with condensation, possibly indicating that the building was still being heated:
Looks like our cross finial at the top of this tower is threatening to crash down to earth:
Not the best oblique view, but you can see the main body of the nave and the transept:
One of the towers from this side, lined with windows up to the open belfry:
I love the soot-stained stone bits here. It matches this church’s imposing character excellently.
Also note the original hexagonal slate tile roof on the nave, which seems to be sloughing off tiles like a lizard shedding skin.
As usual for Gothic Revival churches, these walls are supported with buttresses, and the bays between are filled with tall, skinny stained-glass windows. I also dig the green copper dormers on the roof.
Considering most Gothic Revival churches of this scale have tiny transepts or omit them entirely, these are a pretty grand example. In particular, their stained-glass windows are very large and detailed.
The church’s rectory, also Gothic Revival in style but with Queen Anne massing, seems to be used as offices today:
The David Riebel-designed school is immediately north of the rectory. It is the only building on-site still in use, as a community center.
Another closer view--the rectangular windows are a bit unusual:
The west facade:
The entrance is surrounded by stone trim, and a datestone with the building’s name is centered above the doorway.
It is a bit odd that the roof ends so abruptly, which is unlike the style. This is more of a case of Gothic decoration being applied to a design versus designing a true Gothic building.
Hopefully, some reuse (adaptive or not) can be discovered for this historic church. It is one of Columbus’s most distinguished churches outside of downtown.
Sources:
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/postcard/id/1619
https://web.archive.org/web/20151222110006/http://www.oldoaks.us/?page_id=2
_01_--_1906_Combined_Church_and_School_Cropped.jpg){kind=link}
https://columbuslandmarks.org/2024-most-endangered-sites/
https://catholictimescolumbus.org/local/decree-of-relegation-issued-for-holy-rosary-st-john/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holy_Rosary_Church_(Columbus,_Ohio)_03_-_Choir_boys.jpg
_03_-_Choir_boys.jpg){kind=link}
https://www.columbusmonthly.com/story/lifestyle/2019/08/21/city-quotient-holy-rosary-s/4417391007/
_--_Rock_of_Faith_Baptist_Church_1984.jpg){kind=link}
https://archive.org/details/holy-rosary-church-columbus-ohio-nrhp/mode/2up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Rosary_Church_(Columbus,_Ohio)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John_the_Evangelist_Church_(Columbus,_Ohio)
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/columbusmaps/id/4670/rec/8
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