Immaculate Conception / St. Henry

Immaculate Conception Church in south St Louis, as it were, traveled a lot. Three separate churches enjoyed the title over a period of well over 100 years. The original parish was established in 1854 at 8th and Chestnut. By 1872 it closed due to the damage and danger caused by the tunnels beneath it. It was re-established at Jefferson and Lucas in 1874 only to be suppressed by Archbishop Kain in 1902. Its final presence was at Lafayette and Longfellow, taking possession of what had been St. Kevin (1908). In 1977 St Henry’s Church merged with the (once again) Church of the Immaculate Conception which at this point was staffed by the Augustinian Fathers (since 1972). Due to the declining Catholic population, the parish was closed in 2005. It was purchased as a concert hall by the Compton Heights Band.