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Sioux City, Iowa

Sioux City (Iowa) had its own Lithuanian St. Casimir church (2524 Leech Ave) among its early 20th-century immigrant heritage when the Missouri River served as America's main highway and the cities on its banks swelled from factory workers.

Sioux City St. Casimir church had enough architectural value to be inscribed into the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Originally founded by 1000 local Lithuanians (in 1915) in a place near city stockyards the church was designed by a famous Prairie School architect William L. Steele who decided to build the iconic domed tower on an otherwise simplified gothic revival building. William L. Steele was also responsible for the Woodbury County Courthouse building.

Historic image of Sioux City's St. Casimir Lithuanian church

Historic image of Sioux City's St. Casimir Lithuanian church.

The church interior has also been impressive, created by a Lithuanian-American Adolfas Valeška ~1950. Like many new members of the congregation at the time, he was a Lithuanian artist on the run from Soviet genocide and censorship. He is also known for having created props for Chicago Lithuanian opera.

Sadly, the NRHP inscription did not save the church from the diocese-induced demise. Wishing to do away with the ethnic parish the Diocese of Sioux City forbade accepting new members ~1990 (even though the parish was solvent), held the final mass in 1998, and tore down the historic church building in 2007. Only the old priest's house remains on the site while the church itself has been replaced by a modern single-floored detached dwelling.

Demolishion of Sioux City Lithuanian church

Demolishion of Sioux City Lithuanian church

Private home currently located on where the church stood (parish rectory still survives on the right)

Private home currently located on where the church stood (parish rectory still survives on the right)

The Valeška's interior decorations and even the dome have been saved, however, through the arduous work of the local Lithuanians.

Two Valeška paintings and the St. Casimir statue are now located in Trinity Heights, a religious shrine / religious-themed sculpture park. It is in the same building as is the wooden Last Supper; descriptions of the St. Casimir Lithuanian church are available nearby.

Trinity Hall main sculpture

Trinity Hall main sculpture

An image of Sioux City Lithuanian church interior from the Trinity Heights. The two paintings by Valeška that have been saved here are visible in this image on the both sides of the altar

An image of Sioux City Lithuanian church interior from the Trinity Heights. The two paintings by Valeška that have been saved here are visible in this image on both sides of the altar

While the aging local Lithuanians would like to put the rest of the saved church remains in Trinity Heights as well (hopefully as a kind of separate sculpture), as of 2021, they are still stored in various private places. The dome is at 42.492197, -96.397614 in State Steel (visible from the Virginia street), the stained-glass windows are stored in Nativity Parish, the stones with church name that used to be above and beside the door are located in a private farm of local Lithuanians.

The dome of Sioux City Lithuanian church

The dome of Sioux City Lithuanian church. Interetsingly, a neologism-like Lithuanian word 'maldnamis' is used instead of the common one 'bažnyčia' that has been derived from Slavic sources

The stone with the name of the Sioux City Lithuanian church (in a private land)

The stone with the name of the Sioux City Lithuanian church (in a private land)

Sioux City was the second westernmost city in the world to have a Lithuanian church (after Los Angeles).

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