St. Dominic Parish was the first new parish to be located in the Lakeview section of New Orleans. The first permanent church was located in what is now the school auditorium on Vicksburg Street until the new church was built in the 1960's.

The first Catholic services for the people of the Lakeview section of New Orleans were celebrated as early as 1912 at the West End Pavilion dance hall. At that time, the site of the present church was nothing but a cypress swamp. Twelve years later, in 1924, Archbishop Shaw designated St. Domninic Parish as an official mission parish. Just prior to WW-II, Lakeview began to develop as the City's drainage system permitted development of several previously swampy sections of the outward areas of town. It was not until 1944 that the first church on the present St. Dominic campus on Harrison Avenue and Vicksburg Street was completed. Following WW-II, and with development of Lakeview into a highly sought residential area by developer Robert E. Smith and others, the population in the Harrison Avenue corridor literally exploded in the years between 1946 and 1955. The parish of St. Dominic has gone from a few residents of the pre-WW-II sparely populated Lakeview neighborhood, to become one of the largest parishes in the City even given the outward migration following Hurricane Katrina.

The present church sustained major damage in the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina. Water levels of exceeding eight feet inundated the nave and sanctuary. The pews, furnishings and organ console were severely damaged. The church has since recovered, however, the status of the Wicks pipe organ is not known at this time.

The photos shown above are pre-Katrina and were taken circa: 2002