6303 Nottingham
St. Louis Hills, Missouri 63109
www.saintgabes.net

The St. Louis Hills neighborhood, one of the city's most attractive, was laid out in 1929 around Francis Park, which had been given to the city in 1916 by former mayor and governor David R. Francis. The developer, Cyrus Crane Willmore, encouraged church building, and eventually churches marked all four corners of the park.

The Roman Catholic parish, named for St. Gabriel, the angel of the Annunciation, was started in 1934 in Willmore's office, and the parish school, in Italian Romanesque style, was started at 7411 Tamm Avenue the next year. The church itself was not begun until 1950. The architects were Adolf F. and Arthur Stauder, son and grandson of Joseph Stauder, who had started a family firm in 1874 that is still in business today. Specializing in Catholic institutions, Stauders designed many churches, including St. Agatha (1885), Our Lady of Sorrows (1927), and St. Raphael's (1966), the second parish in St. Louis Hills.

In style, St. Gabriel reflects experiments the Stauders had begun at St. Mary Magdalen on South Kingshighway in 1940, combining the various forms of the Gothic Revival with the stylizations of Art Deco. The result has variously been termed Gothic Deco and Mussolini Medieval. Inside, where columns would usually separate the nave from the side areas, trusses open an unobstructed view, permitting a fan-shaped seating arrangement. The oak-paneled narthex and marble-paneled interior depart significantly from the Gothic. The glass was created by Emil Frei, Jr., to the designs of several artists. The clerestory windows by Siegfried Reinhardt portray the angelic choir, while the three groups of windows on the main level, by Milton Frenzel, depict significant events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, referred to in the ritual of the rosary as the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries. The arched openings over the doors to the right have the coats-of-arms of the archbishops of St. Louis, from Rosati to May.

The Chamber Chorus concluded its 38th subscription season here on April 24, 1994 with a performance of Pizzetti's Requiem and Moeran's Songs of Springtime, excerpts of which may be heard on the Chorus's first compact disc, Choral Masterpieces.

Notes by Esley Hamilton and Philip Barnes