From Catholic Church to a Night Club, the History of the Old St. Patrick's Church Building

Have you ever driven through town and wondered what businesses, people, or groups occupied some of the older buildings over the years? You are not alone! People call, email and stop in at the Museum frequently to ask these questions. While I do not know the history of each and every building in town, there are many whose history is more well known and easily shared; just ask any of my friends who have made the mistake of casually musing about a building and are then subjected to a 10 minute detailed story of the buildings past uses and owners.
 
Recently, I saw a thread on the Patch Facebook page discussing the building at 18 N. 4th Street, home to the Nuova Italia West restaurant. If you are not familiar with this restaurant it may be because of the new name, you might recognize it as Onesti’s, or 18 North, or Destinations, or one of the other restaurants that has been housed there over the last 33 years.
 
Let me back up and start at the beginning: The building that is at 18 N. 4th Street is the original St. Patrick’s Church. Prior to the building of the limestone church in 1851, Catholic residents would meet in homes with visiting or traveling priests for their services. The first known Catholic mass to be celebrated in St. Charles was at the home of Michael Flannery around 1837. His home was located at the northeast corner of 4th and State Streets, the same block where the St. Patrick’s Downtown Church now stands.
 
In 1851, work began on the church using limestone from a quarry at 3rd and Cedar, where the VFW Hall is located today. The building was finished in the same year and on July 9, 1851 St. Patrick’s Church was officially dedicated. A frame home was built to the north of the church to serve as the rectory. Father James O’Dwyer was named the first pastor of St. Patrick’s. The parish started off small but would soon grow in numbers.
 
The year 1893 saw an influx of new residents to St. Charles when the Moline Malleable Iron Company moved from Moline, IL to St. Charles. Many of the workers at the Moline factory were Belgium and Lithuanian Immigrants and practicing Catholics. Over 100 new families were suddenly parishioners at St. Patrick’s and not long after that the Church realized their small stone church was getting to be too small.
 
In 1911, construction began on the “new” St. Patrick’s Church at the corner of 4th and Cedar Streets. When the first mass was said there in 1912 it marked the end for the old stone church across the street. The building sat for years mostly unused, waiting for a need to arise. Finally, in the 1950’sm the old building was needed and used for overflow classrooms for the St. Patrick’s School. The old church was divided into two classrooms and used until the new school building was completed in 1960.
 
For the next 14 years, it again sat empty and unused until two residents purchased the old frame rectory and the old stone church. Terry and Laurette Grove purchased the two buildings as a package deal in 1973 and began renovations on both. The rectory was in bad shape and had been condemned in 1972, before that it had been the home for the St. Patrick’s janitors and their families dating back to 1917. The rectory and church both became Parsonage Antiques.
 
After a few short years, the church had once again been renovated and adapted for a new use, this time as a restaurant known as The Old Church Inn. Long-time residents of St. Charles will remember this name, under several different owners Old Church Inn was a fixture in St. Charles for 21 years. Sadly in 1999 Old Church Inn closed and over the next 12 years the old church has been home to a number of different establishments including 18 North, 18 Esperienza, Onesti’s and for a short time it was even a night club called Destinations. I’m not sure about anyone else but something about a night club in an old church just seems a little weird to me.

Well there you have it. From church to antique shop to night club and restaurant, I hope you enjoyed the interesting history of St. Charles’ oldest Catholic Church.