St. Hedwig's Church

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St. Hedwig’s Church, built in 1886, is located at 1716 N. Humboldt Ave. A part of Brady Street Historic District, St. Hedwig’s Church is a part of the Roman Catholic faith. Before MIAD was even a thought in my brain, I attended a wedding at this beautiful church. From what I remember of the inside, St. Hedwig’s has soaring ceilings, beautiful stonework and it seemed to be a wonderful place to get married. I now live a mere block away from this building, put on the locally-designated historic structures list in April of 1990. And it’s easy to see why. Besides playing a part in the history of the Polish community, the architecture blends elements of Eastern European churchs that immigrants would have remembered from their homeland and Romanesque-influences, as well as using Cream City brick, a well used building material in Milwaukee at the time of its construction.

Section 106, more simply put, says that the public is involved in whether or not a building should become a historic landmark, that building having a significant effect on the neighborhood and its people. While in some cases, the public may want to save a building that is no longer of architectural value, making the section slightly weak, the case is not so here. St. Hedwig’s was originally built out of wood, and when the demand from 200 people went to 600, they rebuilt the structure to accommodate. Now a part of the Three Holy Women parish, a conglomeration of St. Hedwig’s, Holy Rosary Church, and St. Rita’s, St. Hedwig’s Church adds both historical, cultural, religious and architectural value to the Brady Street Historic District.