BASILICA OF SAINT LAWRENCE
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Asheville, North Carolina
A major work by internationally known architect-engineer Rafael Gustavino and Richard Sharp Smith 1905-09, the Spanish Baroque Revival style Catholic church employs his "cohesive construction" technique in its great self-supporting tiled dome and the Catalan-style vaulting seen in its tower stair. Multihued and Flemish-bond brickwork is complimented by polychrome glazed terra-cotta inserts and carved limestone trim and statuary. The Lady Chapel, with its blue tile dome and ceiling, shows Gustavino's work at close range, while the elliptical, warm-hued ceiling of the 58-by-85-foot sanctuary features herringbone tile pattern. Gustavino came to Asheville to execute his self-supporting tile at Biltmore and decided to settle at nearby Black Mountain. He soon declared the city needed a bigger Catholic church and, in association with architect R.S. Smith, whom he knew from their joint work at Biltmore, planned this opulently finished edifice. The exact nature of their collaboration is uncertain; Smith's name appears on the plans. Gustavino executed a number of the beautiful tile plaques in the church, and he is interred in a niche in the church. Craftsman Fred Miles executed the stone figures on the church. Construction was completed by Gustavino Jr. after his father's death in 1908. The church is similar to Gustavino's St. Mary Church in Wilmington.
click here to view St. Mary's Church - architect/engineer Rafael Gustavino & Richard Sharp Smith
From: "A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina", Catherine W. Bishar, Michal T. Southern, & Jennifer F. Martin, 1999, The University of North Carolina Press, pp 273.