162 1206 Throckmorton Street [NR/RTHL], St. Ignatius Academy/St. Patrick Cathedral School of Religion, 1888-89; 1972; 1974. St. Ignatius Academy was founded in 1885 by the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur. The first classes were held in the Jacob Smith house and in the old St. Stanislaus Church. In November 1888 the sisters took out a $50,000 loan and commissioned architect James J.-Kane to design a building to house the school. Of a limestone construction similar to the contemporary St. Patrick Cathedral (CBD 160), the two buildings form a unified historic urban design presence in an area of the central business district which is otherwise modern in appearance. The building is a simplified version of the French Second Empire style, characterized by its mansard roof, dormer windows, cupola tower, and decorative chimneys. This style is unique in Fort Worth. The school prospered during the early years of the twentieth- century, and several other buildings (now demolished) were constructed. After Our Lady of Victory on Hemphill Street was completed in 1910 and upper grade classes were moved to that location, St. Ignatius continued to serve as an elementary school. In 1956 St. Patrick Co-cathedral purchased the school building from the sisters, and continued to operate the school until 1962. Renovations in 1972 and 1974 largely obliterated the building’s historic interior fabric, but changes to the exterior were more sympathetic. The building is now used as the St. Patrick Cathedral School of Religion, with the basement serving as the parish hall. The building was designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1962 and listed, along with the other buildings in the National Register in 1985.
