Sacred Heart Cultural Center

The Sacred Heart Cultural Center, known also as Sacred Heart Catholic Church, is an events center and a former Catholic parish church located in Augusta, Georgia.

History


With the Catholic immigrant population in Augusta outgrowing the St Patrick parish by the 1870s, plans for a new church began. In 1874, Fr Theodore Bulter purchased land for a Catholic church and a Christian school serving all denominations. Temporary structures were initially built, until the much grander structure could be constructed, and Jesuit priests were brought in to administer the new parish. The first bricks of the present structure were laid in 1897, and its first mass was held on December 2, 1900.

Sacred Hearch Catholic Church was built in an ornate cruciform Romanesque style, with a prominent Italian marble high altar in the apse and two side altars in the transept. The walls of the structure were heavily adorned with stained glass from Munich, totaling 94 windows. Six rose windows dominate the ends of transept, and the aisle windows depict various saints and Catholic symbols. The nave features a barrel vault ceiling, and the crossing of the transept is crowned with a small dome. The facade is dominated by round towers capped with conical spires, and three stone arches surrounding the doors. The structure is notable for its elaborate brickwork, featuring 15 distinct kinds of brick.

The church had been in Augusta for 70 years, until it closed in 1971 resulting from escalting maintenance costs and the decreasing neighborhood population as two major floods of the Savannah River and modern suburban development shifted populations away from downtown Augusta. While the building was vacant, it endured much vandalism and was near destruction.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

In 1987, the Knox Foundation renovated the building and opened as a vibrant center of the city for cultural events. The old rectory and school building are used house various non-profit groups and arts organizations.

Events
The Sacred Heart Cultural Center hosts special events such as wine festivals, choral concerts, Christmas events, and an annual garden festival. Artwork is exhibited on a regular basis in the Art Gallery.