With its massive twin towers, St Boniface towers over the West Side of Evansville. Having served the community for 130+ years, it stands as a visual landmark for the surrounding area. The church can even be seen in several pictures from downtown.
St Boniface was originally built in 1881 as the first Catholic Church west of Pigeon Creek--only Assumption (gone), Holy Trinity (rebuilt), and St Mary are older. Several prominent West Siders facilitated the formation of the parish and helped finance it. The church was rebuilt after fire Easter weekend 1902, but retains much of the original look. The towers are a bit wider and shorter and there are dormers on the sides that used to not exist. A c1900 carriage house is located behind the church. One other thing of note is the grotto, built underneath the church in 1914. The flood of 1937 filled the grotto with 3 feet of water damaging several statues and caused it to closed, though it reopened in the 1970s as a mini-museum.
The school at the back of the block along 10th Ave was built in 1923. It actually replaced an older school on the corner where the parking lot now is. The original school was built in 1885 and can be seen in several old pictures. For a while it even housed a parochial high school. After the new school was built it was used for some time but eventually was torn down in 1951.
The sisters' home along Michigan St was built in 1907. The nuns who taught at the school used to reside in the old school building, but as space became limited it was determined to give them a separate structure. It still stands but isn't used except for storage.
The rectory at the corner of Wabash and Virginia was built in 1892. It is a fine example of Victorian living and blends in well with houses in the vicinity.
St Boniface at HistoricEvansville.com - http://www.historicevansville.com/site.php?id=stboniface
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