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MARY OF THE ANGELS HOME

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Mary of the Angels Home

MARY OF THE ANGELS HOME. In 1839 Rev. Samuel MAZZUCHELLI designed and supervised construction of a residence for Bishop Mathias LORAS. The land, Lot 603, on which the home was built, had been owned by Patrick J. QUIGLEY. On April 11, 1840, Quigley donated the grounds.

The plans were drawn to enable the residence to serve as a college for seminarians and a home for priests. Built two and one-half stories high, the home was 40 by 48 feet and made of brick. It was located at the rear of the cathedral on the site later used for St. Raphael's School. Bishop Loras lived in this home on Second and Bluff until his death in 1858. A new residence for the bishop was constructed in 1864 and those enrolled in ST. MARY'S SCHOOL, a girls' academy directed by the SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (BVM), were moved to the former home of Bishop Loras. In April 1884, the Sisters opened this school in a new building constructed at the rear of the Loras home and left the Loras house vacant.

In June 1884, Bishop Hennessy requested the Sisters of Saint Francis open an industrial home for girls in the vacant residence. Hennessy originally viewed the home as a place where meaningful work would be offered for these girls who could not find other employment. The name St. Francis Industrial School was given to the institution.

The impractical nature of the idea as suggested by Hennessy became immediately obvious. The institution opened instead as a boarding house for young ladies employed in Dubuque. Because no more than sixteen girls could be accommodated, the home was soon crowded, and the Sisters began the search for larger quarters. (1)

In 1891 the home of Jesse P. FARLEY on Sixth and Bluff was put up for sale. The house, constructed by Farley in 1879 at a cost of $20,000 and considered one of Dubuque's most beautiful homes, contained twelve large rooms, an attic, and a basement. Farley and his family lived in the residence for thirteen years. They were forced to move in 1892 when financial ruin resulted from a long and costly legal battle. (2)

The Sisters purchased the home on March 30, 1892, for $15,000. Sister Mary Xavier, mother general of the order, signed the papers-the last documents she witnessed before her death. The Sisters transferred the Home to the Farley residence during the spring of 1892. Remodeling was done to prepare it for the new residents; the project was blessed by Reverend Hennessy on June 4, 1892. The institution was then called the Saint Francis Home. Over the next years, the Saint Francis Home cared for twenty regular boarders looked after by four Sisters. (3) Early residents of the home living dormitory style had only the basics: chair, gas lamp, bed and washstand. (4)

With no other Catholic home for young ladies in Dubuque, crowding again became a problem. The decision was made to construct a west wing to the Farley residence. This three-story brick addition, 36 by 50 feet, was blessed on October 2, 1900, by Archbishop John J. KEANE. It was the new archbishop's first dedicatory service in Dubuque.

In the early 1900s, three wings were added. (5) Continued pressure on available space led to the purchase on April 30, 1909, of a lot to the north of the original Farley residence. Four old brick buildings were demolished, and plans were made in May 1911, for a 70- by 38-foot addition. Work was completed in December 1911, and the addition was blessed by a new archbishop, James J. KEANE, on December 10, 1911. This was also his first dedicatory service.

There was never a decision made to convert the home from lodging for working girls into a retirement community. The residents just grew older. (6) Now called Mary of the Angels Home, the building provided shelter for eighty regular boarders with ten Sisters in charge.

Property around the Home was gradually acquired. Four dilapidated houses on the bluff immediately behind the home were demolished soon after the land was purchased from Mr. John Little of Dyersville. The price on June 1, 1916, was $2,600. Flower gardens were created and a small grotto was added to the hillside. On December 5, 1916, a brick house and the lot on which it stood to the south of the Home were purchased from George Watters for $10,000. The house was rented until 1929 when it was torn down to allow the construction of a southern wing to the Home.

The firm of Anton Zwack, Inc. with Fridolin HEER as architect was awarded the contract in February, 1929. The $75,000 project would result in a building three stories high with a basement and would be constructed of pressed brick trimmed with stone. The basement would be used for a kitchen, dining room, and storage cellar. There would be a club and reception room on the first floor flanked by bedrooms. A library would be constructed on the second floor and also flanked by bedrooms. Bedrooms located on the third floor would bring the total number rooms to forty. (7) The work was completed in January 1930.

With the last addition, the Home came to accommodate 83 regular boarders with as many as 100 temporary boarders. (8) In 1988 the Sisters of St. Francis owned and operated the building, but a separate board of OSF nuns was formed in 1987 when Mary of the Angels Home was incorporated. Fewer than ten residents in 1988 were younger women, and although the building was debt free, renovations would create substantial debt. Rent was $140 per month with $300 a month for room and board. (9) Changing times and no longer the need for such facilities led Mary of the Angels Home to be sold in 1990.

The 1939 through 1987 Dubuque City Directory listed 605 Bluff.

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Source:

1. Goessl, Joan, "Campaign Begun for New Statute," Telegraph Herald, February 15, 1984, p. 5

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Fryxell, David, "Mary of the Angels Celebrates its Centennial," Telegraph Herald, May 31, 1984, p 5

6. Ibid.

7. "Let Contract for Church Building," Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal, February 3, 1929, p. 19

8. Goessl

9. Stanley, Mary, "Future Uncertain for Mary of the Angels," December 30, 1988, p 3