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St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and School
3140 N. 51st. Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
Story by Alison King
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One of several churches designed by Ralph Haver & Associates, this campus is distinguished by hosting a case-study triumvirate of Haver specialties all on the same campus: Residential, Church and School. It is a virtual temple to the superiority of local Superlite block as much as a religious house of worship. Here, the best of man-made materials, style and ingenuity collide. 
This church has the delightful quality of most closely resembling Haver's Kon Tiki motel with its wide wood-clad overhangs and dramatic angles. Like the Lou Regester building of the same era the ceiling is is rough-hewn 2X4s standing on edge, which have weathered the last 50 years remarkably well, all things considered. 
A nameplate embedded as a brick in the wall makes this church's provenance clear.
The deeply shaded entryway creates a cool outdoor foyer.
   
Jimmie Nunn reports that many of the decorative Superlite blocks so popular in that era were referred to in the industry simply as "Haver Blocks", since Mr. Haver had a hand in designing them. 
The school campus design hearkens to the Hohokam Elementary school design of the same era. 
The wooden ceiling intersects all the way through from exterior to interior.
  
Even the pastor's rectory is a compound of mini-Haver homes.
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