View of downtown Evansville, lookin from atop the old Vanderburgh County Courthouse at 201 NW 4th St. south towards the Ohio River. Immediately in front, in the middle, is the old jail and sheriff's residence at 208 NW 4th St. Only partially visible here, it was built in 1890 and modeled after Lichtenstein Castle. According to the Historic Evansville website, "The building itself is designed to invoke fear in the observer." The Vanderburgh County Jail is also connected to the former Courthouse, which lies across the street, via an underground dungeon-like tunnel. During the time of the jail's use, the tunnel served as a passageway to transport prisoners to and from court." It served as a jail until 1969. The building has been restored and today houses attorneys' offices. The tall spire in the middle is Holy Trinity Catholic Church at 211 NW 3rd St., originally 12-16 Upper 3rd St. "Holy Trinity Catholic church, an unimposing little church downtown on 3rd St, has the distinction of being Evansville�s oldest Catholic parish. Originally the second oldest, it took that title from Assumption Church when it was torn down in 1965 for the Civic Center. But what most people may remember was the beautiful old church building that burned down in 1950. With the boom of German immigrants into Evansville, Holy Trinity was the result of the need for a German-speaking parish (Assumption was English-speaking). The cornerstone was laid in 1849, but a cholera epidemic halted construction. The church was finally completed in 1851 and Holy Trinity parish was born. The church occupied the entire half block of Third St between Court St (originally Division St) and Vine St. The gorgeous chuch with its tall spire was a downtown landmark. A huge school building was on the corner of Vine which for a time served as the Catholic high school (before Memorial was built). A sister�s home was located behind the school fronting Vine St. A new rectory was built in 1912 on the corner of 3rd and Court which is still standing but hidden by the later addition of the education building. Sadly, after standing for a century the church was struck by lightning Easter Sunday and burned down April 3, 1950. The blaze completely gutted the church." Downtown lost one of its most prominent churches, and the city skyline was noticeably missing something. Mass was temporarily held in the school while the present Holy Trinity church was being built. When it burned, it was the oldest Catholic church in the city. While Trinity is still the oldest congregation, St Mary Catholic Church, built 1867, is now the oldest Catholic church building in town. (http://www.vchshistory.org/2014/03/19/holy-trinity-catholic-church-and-fire/) The church on the left, seemingly next to the jail, is the German Methodist Episcopal Church at 202 NW 4th St., built in 1865, dedicated in 1867, with a name change to 4th St. Methodist Episcopal Church in 1917. Its congregation merged with another and moved to another location, so in 1937 that building became the courthouse annex. It was razed in 1973. The congregation itself dates back to at least 1842.