Gesu: The Jesuit Cathedral of Wisconsin Avenue
Near Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Rising on Wisconsin Avenue in eighteen ninety-four, the Church of the Gesu is Milwaukee's most imposing Gothic church, its twin towers evoking the cathedral at Chartres. The Jesuit parish traces its roots to eighteen forty-nine, when Bishop Martin Henni built Saint Gall's Church nearby. Architect Henry Koch, who also designed Milwaukee City Hall, drew on the Gothic cathedral at Chartres for the building.
The cornerstone ceremony in May eighteen ninety-three drew thousands lining the avenue in parade. Today Gesu anchors the Marquette University campus and remains an active parish, its Gothic stonework and soaring nave unchanged after more than a century.
