St. Alphonsus Church is located on Constance Street just down from the corner at Josephine Street. in the Irish Channel. The church was one of two that served a single parish. St. Alphonsus was the church for the Irish residents of Uptown and St. Mary's (around the corner facing Josephine Street) served the German community. There was also a church on Jackson Ave. for the French community, but it burned in the 1840s. The Irish and Germans did not want to go to church together to the point that they built these two large, beautiful churches across the street from each other. The priests lived in a rectory attached to St. Mary's, and would say Mass at both churches on Sundays.

As the cultural differences between the two communities merged over time, so did the need for both churches. By the '40s and '50s, St. Alphonsus was used by the grammar school (which bore the name St. Alphonsus), and St. Mary's by Redemptorist High School. Today, St. Alphonsus has been deconsecrated (it is no longer used as a church for Mass and other liturgical functions), and is now used as a community center where concerts, art exhibtions, etc., are held. The parish uses St. Mary's Assumption for Mass. The biggest downside to this part of the channel is that the churches are only two blocks away from the St. Thomas housing project, making it a pretty rough neighborhood. The photo was shot by me (Ed Branley) with my trusty Nikon FA and a 28mm lens.

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