Our Mother of Sorrows Grotto Historic District

Historic district in Iowa, United States

United States historic place


Our Mother of Sorrows Grotto Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district


42°00′10″N 91°39′12″W / 42.00278°N 91.65333°W / 42.00278; -91.65333
Built	1929-1941
Architect	William H. Lightner
NRHP reference No.	14000213^[1]
Added to NRHP	January 21, 2015

Our Mother of Sorrows Grotto Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located on the Mount Mercy University campus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.^[1] It consists of a lagoon and five structures dedicated to the Virgin Mary.^[2] They include two arched entryways, a bridge, a ten-column structure representing the Ten Commandments, and a canopy enclosing a marble statue of the Virgin Mary. It was built by William H. Lightner, a self-trained architect, between 1929 and 1941. He utilized 12 tons of stone and 300 varieties of Italian mosaic glass that he acquired in his travels of more than 40,000 miles (64,000 km).^[3]

Popular in southern Europe, grottoes are natural or artificial caves that are places of spiritual reflection. In the United States, they are found primarily in the Midwest, and are created mostly by self-trained artists and builders.^[3]

When Lightner died in 1968, the Grotto fell into disrepair. Grants from the Smithsonian Institution’s American Heritage Preservation Project-Save Outdoor Sculpture (2001), the Iowa Arts Council (2011), and The National Endowment for the Arts (2014) were used to restore the structures. The Grotto is used for a variety of personal and communal events.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ "Our Mother (Lady) of Sorrows Grotto". Mount Mercy University. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Vanessa Miller (April 30, 2015). "Mount Mercy grotto makes National Register". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids. Retrieved September 14, 2017.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque

Ordinaries

Bishops: Mathias Loras; Clement Smyth

Archbishops: John Hennessy; John Keane; James Keane; Francis Beckman; Henry Rohlman; Leo Binz; James Byrne; Daniel Kucera; Jerome Hanus; Michael Jackels; Thomas Robert Zinkula

Auxiliary bishops

Churches

Cathedral: St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque

Parishes: Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville; St. John XXIII, Cedar Rapids; Holy Ghost, Dubuque; Holy Trinity, Luxemburg; Sacred Heart, Dubuque; Sacred Heart, Fillmore; St. Boniface, New Vienna; St. Donatus, St. Donatus; St. Joseph, Elkader; St. Joseph, Key West; Saint Joseph the Worker, Dubuque; St. Martin, Cascade; St. Mary, Guttenberg; St. Patrick, Dubuque; St. Patrick, Garryowen; St. Lawrence, Otter Creek; St. Paul, Worthington; Saints Peter and Paul, Petersburg

Former parishes: Saint Joseph's Prairie Church; St. Mary, Dubuque; St. Joseph, Stone City

Education

Higher education: Clarke University; Divine Word College; Loras College; Mount Mercy University; St. Pius X Seminary, Dubuque

High schools: Beckman High School, Dyersville; Columbus High School, Waterloo; Don Bosco High School, Gilbertville; Marquette High School, Bellevue; Newman Catholic High School, Mason City; Wahlert High School, Dubuque; Xavier High School, Cedar Rapids

Primary schools: Mazzuchelli Middle School, Dubuque; Holy Family Catholic Schools, Dubuque; St. Mary's School, Guttenberg

Former schools: Sacred Heart School, Dubuque; St. Luke's School, St. Lucas

Religious orders

Priests

Miscellany

Mount Saint Bernard Seminary and Barn
Our Mother of Sorrows Grotto Historic District

Catholicism portal

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Agriculture	Seminole Valley Farmstead
Apartment buildings	Ausadie Building Brown Apartments
Civic buildings	Cedar Rapids Central Fire Station Cedar Rapids Post Office and Public Building Iowa State Highway Commission, District 6 Building Linn County Courthouse Veterans Memorial Building
Clubhouses	C.S.P.S. Hall Consistory Building No. 2 Sokol Gymnasium
Commercial buildings	Best Oil and Refining Company Service Station Hotel Roosevelt Iowa Building Lattner Auditorium Building Lesinger Block Paramount Theater Building Peoples Savings Bank Security Building Sinclair Building-Smulekoffs Furniture Store
Historic districts	B Avenue NE Historic District Bever Woods Historic District Bohemian Commercial Historic District Cedar Rapids 2nd Avenue SE. Automobile Row Historic District Cedar Rapids Central Business District Commercial Historic District Mays Island Historic District Monroe Elementary School Historic District Oak Hill Cemetery Historic District Our Mother of Sorrows Grotto Historic District Redmond Park-Grande Avenue Historic District Second and Third Avenue Historic District West Side Third Avenue SW Commercial Historic District
Houses	Robert and Esther Armstrong House A. T. Averill House Glenn M. and Edith Averill House Calder Houses William and Sue Damour House George B. Douglas House Dr. Percy and Lileah Harris House Lustron Home No. 02102 Charles W. and Nellie Perkins House T. M. Sinclair Mansion Taylor-Van Note Philip A. Wolff House and Carriage House
Industrial buildings	Cedar Rapids Milk Condensing Company Cedar Rapids Pump Company Factory and Warehouse Evans Manufacturing Company Building Hamilton Brothers Building Harper and McIntire Company Warehouse Iowa Wind Mill and Pump Company Office and Warehouse Shores-Mueller Company Witwer Grocery Company Building
Religious buildings	Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church First Church of Christ, Scientist First Universalist Church of Cedar Rapids Moslem Temple St. James United Methodist Church St. Paul Methodist Episcopal Church
Schools	Grant Vocational High School
Transportation	First Avenue Bridge Highwater Rock IANR Railroad Underpass
National Register of Historic Places listings in Linn County, Iowa List of National Historic Landmarks in Iowa