St. Mary's Catholic Church

St. Mary's Catholic Church, built in 1934, was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of Father Thomas J. Martin, whose grave can be seen at the northeast corner of the church. Father Martin spent all but the first six years of his priesthood in Helena, and his fondest wish was to leave behind him a beautiful and lasting monument to the church and to the people whom he loved and served for so many years. The architect was Charles Eames. This church was his first large commission, and one that he always spoke of as being one of his finest works. Mr. Eames gave up his work as an architect, achieving fame in industrial design. His name is considered to modern furniture design what Frank Lloyd Wright's name is to architecture. He designed the famous Eames chair, which is the "father" to all molded plastic furniture.