Church Construction Archives - Page 4 of 210 - Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design

Father Agustin Martinez, associate pastor of St. Paul, Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann and Father Michael Hermes, pastor of St. Paul, stand in front of a rendering of the new St. Paul Church in Olathe. The parish broke ground on the church on May 11. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER

by Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org

OLATHE There was a reason St. Paul Parish here exchanged its usual Mass venue in its temporary worship space last Sunday for a grassy field adjoining the east side of the school.

The evening Mass for the solemnity of the Ascension on May 11 was also the historic groundbreaking for the construction of the fourth church in the 164-year history of the parish the first and thus oldest parish in Johnson County.

The outdoor altar was situated approximately where the new churchs altar will be located.

The mood of the more than 2,300 present on that warm, sunny evening was excited.

Thats what Jose and Maria Ramirez said, with translation assistance from their daughter Juseth Cruz.

The Ramirezes have been parishioners for 27 years and were part of the procession on Dec. 29, 2018, from the former church at 900 S. Honeysuckle Dr., where the parish worshiped since 1962, to the current St. Paul School at 21650 W. 115th Terr.

Were pretty excited for the church and very happy, said Jose.

Very happy for the new church, said Maria. Weve all been collectively working together for this new church that well all be able to celebrate in in a bigger way.

As for Cruz, she was excited, too.

Im very excited for this new church, she said, and getting to see all the new people who will join and experience this beautiful building being built.

The groundbreaking was but another step in a master plan set in motion when Father Michael Hermes became pastor on July 1, 2014. Parishioners have long been eager to exchange their temporary space for a real, beautiful church.

This is a day weve been waiting for for a long, long time, said parishioner Terry Punswick, who was handing out buttons and programs, and there are many parishioners whove been waiting longer than I have. For this day to finally happen just fills us with joy and anticipation. I wish we could start building right away.

That wont happen. Instead, parishioners will continue to use the temporary worship space a multipurpose room inside St. Paul School for a bit longer.

Plans have been drawn up by JNKA Architects of Chicago and cost estimators have produced their figures. Requests for bids by general contractors will go out in mid-June, said Father Hermes. No exact dates have been set for the start or completion of construction.

The main celebrant of the Mass was Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, and the homilist was Father Hermes. He tied the building of the new church to the duty of all Christians to evangelize.

This task belongs to all members of the church. It is not only for bishops and priests, he said in Spanish and English. Every baptized person must think of himself or herself as permanently sent, as a missionary disciple, so that in the midst of family life and in the midst of our work, we may always be carrying the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others by the testimony of our lives.

In his remarks, Archbishop Naumann praised the work of Father Hermes, associate pastor Father Agustin Martinez, the parish building and planning committees, and parishioners.

I want to congratulate Father Hermes and the building team for all theyve done, he said, and to congratulate you for responding so generously.

Its expensive to build a new church and a new campus. Thank you all for your support. Its not over yet, I hope, and I look forward to being able to be here when the new church will be dedicated to celebrate that glorious day.

The reason for a new church was alluded to by Archbishop Naumann and Olathe mayor John Bacon. Bacon said Olathe has doubled in size in the past 30 years, and now boasts approximately 153,000 residents.

St. Paul is the largest parish in the archdiocese, recently surpassing the Church of the Ascension in Overland Park, said the archbishop. It has at least 3,325 registered families, according to Father Hermes. The growth shows no sign of stopping.

The design of the new church will have both traditional and contemporary elements. It will have a Romanesque cruciform layout with some pews in the front in a fan-shaped configuration.

The outside faade will be Spanish Colonial. The upper level of the building will be the church, and the lower level will be the social hall/church offices with a kitchen. The hall can be divided with accordion-style movable partitions. Each level will be 19,540 square feet.

To manage costs, the master plan calls for construction in stages. At first, only the upper level church and eucharistic adoration chapel will be finished. The lower level will be unfinished for a while. Later stages will include a courtyard and school gymnasium. The estimated cost of the first stage of church construction is $20 million.

The new church will be built northeast of St. Paul School. The entire campus consists of 20 acres donated by the Leonard and Ellen McKinzie Family.

Dignitaries for the groundbreaking included Archbishop Naumann, Father Hermes, Father Martinez, Bacon, Carol Kulhmann representing the McKinzie Family, David Kulhman of JNKA Architects, parish council representative Hoan Kim Pham, finance council representative Scott Anderson and building committee representative Dennis Wilbert.

To view more photos from the Mass and groundbreaking, follow us on Facebook.

Construction can now begin on a project to transform the former First Congregational Church on North Main Street into housing after new plans, updated to reflect an agreement between developers and the neighboring Greater Islamic Society of Concord, got their final city sign-off last week.

Were looking forward to getting underway after a bumpy start, developer Ben Kelley said.

The Islamic Society sued the City of Concord last fall, arguing that its concerns about parking availability it had long used parking spaces on the church property had been unfairly sidelined during the approval process by the Zoning Board. Kelley and developing partner Jonathan Chorlian made an agreement with the Islamic Society and its president Ali Sekou, also a city councilor, to give it some land between their two properties that includes a driveway where parking spaces will be added.

As part of the agreement, the Islamic Society agreed to drop its lawsuit against the city.

The new arrangement got a green light from the Zoning Board in February and another from the Planning Board last week. Kelley and Chorlian can now start construction in earnest on their plans to put 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the 1937 church, adding a boost of new housing downtown. Some demolition work began last week, with substantial construction work set to begin within a month and wrap up by spring of next year, Kelley said.

City council has approved seven years of property tax relief for the development, totaling an estimated $393,000, under a state law incentivizing the rehabilitation of historic buildings towards the public benefit. It must be substantially complete by the end of March 2025 to receive it, under terms extended by the council this month.

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Construction of housing project in former Church to begin with parking dispute in the rearview - Concord Monitor

Christian homes on fire in Al-Fawakher village on 23 April 2024. Image: CSW

Source: CSW

Extremists attacked the Christian community in Al-Fawakher village in Minya Province, Upper Egypt, following rumours that they were planning to build a church.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) sources report that several homes and properties belonging to Christians in the village were destroyed on 23 April, and that local police and firefighters, led by the deputy governor and the head of the police department in Minya, acted quickly to contain the situation.

The police have launched an operation seeking to arrest the instigators of the violence, including those who spread rumours online about plans to construct a church.

CSW's Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: "CSW condemns the latest sectarian attack in Upper Egypt that comes as the Coptic Orthodox community prepares to celebrate Easter. An unacceptable culture of intimidation and discrimination is still far too prevalent in this region despite positive steps taken by the Egyptian authorities in recent years, and the personal commitment of President Sisi to fight sectarian extremism and promote equality of citizenship. Egyptian citizens should all be free to practice any religion or belief of their choosing without fear of threats or physical violence. We commend the swift intervention by the local authorities, and urge the government of Egypt to continue to tackle extremism, sectarian hatred and incitement, ensuring an end to policies and practices which create division between communities."

In a separate development, the Egyptian government issued a memorandum designating Sunday 5 and Monday 6 May as bank holidays to celebrate Labour Day, which falls on 1 May. The memorandum has sparked outrage amongst the Coptic Orthodox community for ignoring Orthodox Easter Sunday, which falls on 5 May.

Coptic activists suggested to CSW that the move may be intended to appease Egypt's Salafi Muslim community, who consider recognising Easter to be sinful, as it defies the mainstream Islamic doctrine which denies Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is a human rights organisation specialising in freedom of religion or belief. We work in over 20 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. See: http://www.csw.org.uk

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Egypt: Christian homes attacked following rumours of planned church construction | ICN - Independent Catholic News

Snow was in the air and an Arctic breeze swirled over Belushya Guba as Bishop Iakov blessed the plate that will serve as foundation stone for a new local church. On site was an assembly of military men in uniform and local civilians. A video shared by the 12th Directorate shows the bishop leading a ceremony and spraying so-calledsacred water over the attendees.

The square in the center of the small military town will be site for a new churchwith space for at least 150 people. Construction will soon start and progress quickly a local military representative saysin a video. Photos show piles of timber ready for shipment from the mainland to the remote archipelago.

Bishop Iakov was brought to the archipelago with a special flight organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The prelate, known as the Russian Orthodox Church special envoy on Arctic affairs, had with him an icon of Serfim Sarovsky, the 18th Century saint that is considered the official protector of the 12th Main Directorate.

The new church will carry the saints name, and the icon will decorate its walls.

Iakov is reportedly himself the initiator of the construction projects at Novaya Zemlya.

Ahead of Patriach Kirills visit to the archipelago in 2018, Bishop Iakov presented the idea to the church leader, state news agency TASS reported. During the visit, the Patriarch announced the plans.

A new and bigger church building is to be erected on the site of an existing chapel, which in turn is to be dismantled and moved to the nearby settlement of Rogachevo. In addition, a new chapel is to be built in Severny, the military town located in the Matochin Strait.

Judging from statements made by the Patriarch, many young clergymen might soon be sent to Novaya Zemlya for training and education. It is a place well suited for testing of their spiritual strength, Kirilltold TASS.

It is especially for those that want to make a church career, for candidates and archbishops, he explained.

He also proposed the development of a special program on church service in the Arctic.

Photos from the visit show Patriarch Kirill being guided around in Belushya Guba by military leaders, among them Aleksandr Tsinitsyn, head of the local military base.

Novaya Zemlya is strictly closed military area and test site for nuclear weapons. In the period between the mid-1950s and 1990, a total of 132 nuclear weapon tests were carried out at the archipelago, among them the 50 Mt Tsar Bomba.

The nuclear testing was organized by the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense. Subcritical experiments continue until this day.

Bishop Iakov is instrumental in many of the Russian Orthodox Church initiatives currently unfolding across the Arctic. The prelate was present when a large Orthodox cross in 2023 was erected in Franz Josef Land.

He was also a key person behind the disputed erection of a cross in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Together with representatives of Russian state company Trust Arktikugol, Iakov placed the 7-meter high religious monument on the hillside of Pyramiden, the abandoned coal mining town.

The Governor of Svalbard knew nothing about the new cross ahead of its erection. In an interview with the Barents Observer, Governor Lars Fause says the illegitimate action will have a consequence.

The Environmental Protection Department will follow up, Fause said in acomment.

The efforts to erect Orthodox crosses across the Arctic is part of a church project supported by Patriarch Kirill.

Since 2012, the Russian Orthodox has in cooperation with the Russian Armed Forces and the Geographical Society built churches, erected crosses and sanctified sites across major parts of the Arctic.

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WATERFORD The bells of St. Thomas may soon chime no more.

Leaders of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church have made the difficult decision to demolish a historic old sanctuary that might be the oldest church in Waterford.

The 1880 structure at 300 S. First St. is a cornerstone of the Catholic community in Waterford, with a towering steeple whose bells can be heard chiming every day.

But church leaders say the structure is in disrepair and that the cost of repairing it is simply too much.

Blaise Beaulier, the churchs director of administration, said officials are taking steps to prepare for razing the deteriorated chapel. Although no timetable has been set, he said, officials hope to complete the demolition sooner rather than later.

The future of the old church building has been under consideration for the past two years, Beaulier said.

While he acknowledged the buildings historic and sentimental value, he said there are no other options.

Its a very emotional thing, he said. We have to make decisions that are in the best interests for St. Thomas.

Historic preservation advocates are saddened to hear that a piece of Waterford history soon will be gone.

Robert Gariepy, a member of the Waterford Heritage Committee, said he and others tried to get the St. Thomas church a state historic landmark designation that might protect it from demolition.

State officials denied the request, he said, because of cosmetic changes that have altered the original appearance.

Gariepy said the building remains the oldest church in Waterford, and many people will miss hearing the bells chime each day from the clock and bell tower.

Its just heartbreaking, he said. A lot of people do not want to see that icon go.

Built for $20,000 just a few years after the U.S. Civil War, the church replaced an original St. Thomas chapel that had stood in Waterford since 1851. A growing parish demanded more room for Sunday worship in the 1880s.

The chapel served generations of church-goers until 2007 when an adjacent former Catholic school was razed and a new St. Thomas Church was built in its place at 305 S. First St.

The parish currently serves about 900 families.

The old 1880 structure currently serves as the location for a food pantry. Church leaders are relocating the food pantry in preparation for demolition of the old house of worship.

Sarah Crupi, a member of the St. Thomas pastoral council, said she and her colleagues have reluctantly come to the realization that they do not have enough money to restore the property.

Noting that similar historic landmarks are preserved elsewhere around the world, Crupi called it a shame to lose part of Waterfords history.

Its pretty sad, she said.

Gariepy, who also is a member of the St. Thomas parish, said he heard estimates in excess of $1 million for the cost of repairing the 1880 church. An earlier estimate, he said, showed it would cost $250,000 just to restore the bell tower and steeple.

Unless a large donor comes forward to help, Gariepy said, he sees no hope of staving off the wrecking ball.

I dont know of any other way, he said.

St. Thomas leaders will need approval from the Catholic archbishop of Milwaukee to move ahead with demolition. A spokeswoman said Monday the archbishop had not yet received a request regarding the Waterford church.

Beaulier said stained glass windows and other important artifacts have been moved into the new church. Other materials will be salvaged and preserved for some sort of tribute to the old chapel, he said.

Our intent is to further capture the memory and essence of the building, he said. We plan to continue moving forward to best serve our parishioners and our surrounding community with the decisions we have made.

The farmhouse is one of the few reminders of the once rural landscape of Madison's Far West Side. Formerly Uno Pizzeria, the house is now part of a housing development of apartments along Mineral Point Road.

This undated aerial photo shows a more recent layout of the farm along Mineral Point Road.

The former Uno Pizzeria & Grill that was housed for 26 years in a historic farmhouse closed in 2016, but the 132-year-old building is being preserved as part of a 64-unit workforce housing development along Mineral Point Road. The house will soon be moved to a new foundation, lower left, closer to the road and will be used for a community room, kitchen and fitness center.

The former Uno Pizzeria & Grill that for 26 years was in a historic farmhouse at 7601 Mineral Point Road is slated to be moved closer to the roadway to make room for a multifamily development.

Construction workers with Connery Construction prepare the site where the farmhouse will be moved in the coming weeks.

In 1980, the Shopko under construction along Mineral Point Road was on the edge of farmland and much of the Far West Side had not been developed. Mineral Point Road is on the left and West Towne Mall in the background.

Awnings and other modern additions to the 1890 farmhouse, seen here in 2015, are being removed to restore the building to more of its original look.

The gathering room of a restored interior of an historic farmhouse that once housed Pizzeria UNO restaurant at the new UNO Terrace housing development on Mineral Point Road in Madison, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

The restored farmhouse's exterior is largely unchanged but the interior has been modernized to serve as a community room for the residents of Uno Terrace.

Northpointe Development design manager Emily OBrien walks through one of 64 living units at Uno Terrace. The apartments and town homes include granite counter tops and a washer and dryer in each unit. The development was completed in September and only a few units remain available to rent.

To accommodate a new, adjacent apartment building, the historic farmhouse was moved closer to Mineral Point Road. The project also add a large outdoor patio and porch.

Northpointe Development design manager Emily OBrien enters a commons area from inside a restored farmhouse that has been incorporated into the Uno Terrace.

Emily and Sean OBrien of Northpointe Development show off the remodeled interior of a more than 130-year-old farmhouse along Mineral Point Road. Now part of Uno Terrace, the farmhouse is serving as a community room for the 64-unit housing development.

A childrens play area in a gathering room at the Uno Terrace housing development honors the history of a restored farmhouse which once was home to a Pizzeria Uno.

A quatrefoil window, one of the signature design elements of an historic farmhouse which has been incorporated into the new Uno Terrace housing development in Madison.

An historic farmhouse that once house Pizzeria Uno has been restored and incorporated into the new Uno Terrace housing development on Mineral Point Road in Madison.

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Waterford prepares for the heartbreak of seeing its oldest church come down - Journal Times

Mike Bell used Blender, open-source 3D computer graphics software, to model the collapse of the First Congregational Church in New London. (Courtesy of Mike Bell)

Mike Bell, a retired architect in South Africa, does animations on YouTube that explain building collapses, plane crashes and other topics. (Courtesy of Mike Bell)

News of a building collapse on another continent isnt the kind of thing that normally sends people into a frenzy of activity.

But when Mike Bell, an architect in Cape Town, South Africa, heard about the fall of New Londons First Congregational Church, he knew instantly he had to determine the cause. Its the same reaction hes had to other disasters.

My mind goes into overdrive, he said. When I see the photographs and I hear the witnesses talking and the sequences, my brain just must, must figure it out.

Bell, 61, whose rsum includes the design of a 40,000-seat soccer stadium in South Africa built for the FIFA World Cup, is retired after a 35-year career. He now makes videos for YouTube in which he explains complicated things in a simple manner with 3D animations for your enjoyment, his bio reads.

With 58,000 subscribers, Bell has made videos on everything from a drone strike that killed the leader of al-Qaida to the implosion of a submersible exploring the Titanic. But he has a specialty.

You really do need to have a niche, and building collapses totally are my niche, he said. Theres nobody else who does it and who can do what I do.

Mike Bell, a South African architect, used Blender, open-source 3D computer graphics software, to animate the Jan. 25 collapse of the First Congregational Church.

His recreation shows the towering granite spire falling inward through the roof of the building.

Graphics courtesy Mike Bell

Mike Bell, a South African architect, used Blender, open-source 3D computer graphics software, to animate the Jan. 25 collapse of the First Congregational Church.

His recreation shows the towering granite spire falling inward through the roof of the building.

Graphics courtesy Mike Bell

To figure out and animate collapses, he said, he bounces ideas off structural engineer friends and draws on a wealth of experience from his career.

When youre working for really, really long, you dont even need to think, he said. If somebody asks you a question, it just sort of rolls off because youve done it so many times. Its an amazing place to get to.

Solving New Londons church collapse, which happened Jan. 25, was right up his alley. When he heard about it online, I immediately just went into every nook and cranny I could find, got everything I could, and within a day and a half I published the first video.

Eight minutes long, it includes the widely seen security camera footage that gives a partial view of the collapse. He followed that up with a 16-minute video, released a week ago, that goes into more detail.

Though Bell worked on the second video for weeks, by the time the first one came out, he said, he had already figured out what brought the building down.

* * *

Officials in New London are still investigating the collapse and have not announced the cause. They have the advantage of being here, while Bell is an ocean away.

But in the internet age, distance has almost ceased to matter.

If I could drive there and come and have a look for myself and take footage, that would be better, Bell said, but the distance actually is immaterial to me.

A cutaway view of the front of the church and the center spire. If Bells theory is correct, the seeds of the churchs demise were planted at its birth.

The information he consulted is much of what would be available if he were here: the footage from the ISAAC School, which caught the spires fall; the most recent report on the buildings condition; drone video; photographs; and news stories, including those in The Day, to which he bought a subscription.

Most of what he needed was at his fingertips, and he found more by connecting with people via email and social media.

The internet is absolutely phenomenal, Bell said. There was a plane crash in Nepal a year ago, and within no time at all I had spoken to the guy who happened to be filming the crash from his balcony, which was key to my video. He found the man by messaging him on TikTok.

Getting a video online promptly is important, he said, because YouTubes algorithm sends more viewers his way when a story is fresh. His second video about the church was delayed while he hurried to complete an animation of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

Still, of over 90,000 people who viewed his quick response church video in January, only about 100 were in the New London area. For some reason, his effort didnt catch on here, even though he explained in detail how and why the building failed.

* * *

So what happened?

It was pretty obvious from the clues, Bell said. There was a bad pocket of masonry, which he called a ticking time bomb.

He said he pinpointed the location to the steeples north wall behind the balcony. There were reports of a serious water leak and buckling door frames at the spot, which is where the pipe organ was.

Thats part of my theory, he said, that the organ might have covered up the damage.

The organ was replaced with a digital one around 2011 because of the leak, said Alan McNeely, whose Waterford company maintained the instrument. But the larger pipes and oak casework were there until the end.

The organ, shown in photo above, is outlined in magenta.

Bell believes a pocket of bad masonry was the cause of the spires tilt and its eventual collapse. He says it was in the steeples north wall, shown in white, and may have been hidden by the churchs pipe organ.

The pipe organ, shown in photo above, is outlined in magenta in Bells graphic.

If true, Bells theory would be part of a remarkable story. Because, he said, the masonrys poor condition wasnt anything recent. It dated all the way back to the churchs construction in 1850-51.

As The Day has reported, Leopold Eidlitz, the churchs architect, wrote a letter of warning to the congregation as soon as the building was occupied. He said the tower walls were parting in consequence of defective masonry and unequal settling.

Eidlitz decided to secure the tower with iron anchors as a temporary solution, and the church arranged for permanent repairs in 1857, though Eidlitz had recommended the tower be demolished and rebuilt.

Steel rods called anchor ties were installed in the spire shortly after the church was completed to hold it together because the walls were already parting.

The churchs architect said the tower walls were unstable because of defective masonry and uneven settling. He wanted the tower demolished and rebuilt.

Steel rods called anchor ties were installed in the spire shortly after the church was completed to hold it together because the walls were already parting.

The churchs architect said the tower walls were unstable because of defective masonry and uneven settling. He wanted the tower demolished and rebuilt.

The unequal settling produced a problem that was hiding in plain sight. The churchs granite spire, 150 feet high, was left with a slight but significant tilt, Bell said. The tilt, which was toward the rest of the building, began around the apex of the roof, below the bell room, and was probably there from the beginning, he said.

Bell noted that the church survived the 1938 hurricane, a Category 3 storm, which suggests the masonry pocket degraded considerably after that. The rest of the building was solidly built, he said.

The spires tilt was stable until around 2019, when photos show it started to worsen. By Jan. 25, it had increased to 2 degrees, shifting the weight of the spire to the damaged north wall. When the walls bearing capacity was exceeded, he said, the whole thing collapsed.

New London Fire Marshal Vernon Skau, who is coordinating the official investigation, declined to provide any details about its focus and did not indicate when it would be finished.

* * *

Bells main evidence was the ISAAC footage: not just the five seconds everyone has seen, but 24 minutes of high-resolution video that allowed him to track the tilt frame-by-frame. The school, which supplied the video, also gave him still images for the prior 10 days.

Video is super, super valuable to me, or photographs as well, but video is the best, he said.

In the ISAAC footage, only the spire is visible over the parking garage on Governor Winthrop Boulevard. But Bell used Blender, open-source 3D computer graphics software, to model the entire event. Blender helped Bell document the tilt, as did a 2014 photo and 3D views of downtown New London from 2019 on Google Maps.

As the tilt worsens in the footage, the spire pivots on a point near the roof line, suggesting that the damage is just below that, around the balcony.

In his second video, Bell tracked the gilded ball atop the spire, where the tilts increase was most evident. The balls movement grew exponentially: 15 inches in the last four years, another 17 inches in the 10 days before the collapse, 7 more inches in the final 24 minutes, and 19 inches in the 1.7 seconds before the spire reached its tipping point.

Using video and photo evidence, Bell tracked the movement of the gilded ball atop the spire. The tilt worsened dramatically in the days before the collapse.

As the spire began to fall, it built up momentum that increased its weight, creating a hammer blow effect that overwhelmed solid stonework at the steeples base, he said. Then, the rest landed on the rubble, slowing the fall and causing the top of the spire to break off, a key moment in the ISAAC footage.

The spire fell through the roof while the lower steeple spilled onto the churchs lawn.

Photos of the church at different periods were also available, some of them supplied by The Day. They showed a sag in the roof where it met the steeple on the east side, but the steeple fell asymmetrically on the west side, he said.

A photo from the 1860s shows the buildings facade studded with anchor plates, where steel rods, or ties," stabilizing the tower from within are bolted to the outer walls. This was a common corrective measure in older buildings, Bell said, and its possible one rusted through, contributing to the collapse.

The anchor plates, apparently from Eidlitzs repairs and the churchs slightly later ones, look the same in recent photos.

Nobodys added any more, he said, which means if they added those anchor ties as the building was being completed, that masonry was indeed trouble.

The steel tie rods were bolted to the outer walls with anchor plates, which were visible on the facade of the building.

* * *

If Bells theory is correct, the seeds of the churchs demise were planted at its birth. Then it somehow survived until a random January day more than a century and a half later. He said for a flawed structure to last that long is rare.

The architect would have been incredibly surprised that it took 175 years for it to fall down, he said.

In his letter to the church, Eidlitz said the steeple had been built in a hurry by a contractor of questionable competence.

To write a strong letter like that is professionally very brave, Bell said, noting that Eidlitz was young at the time. You can potentially lose future work if you get a name for being an alarmist. But at the same time, youve got to be professionally responsible and call out stuff that should be called out.

Bell criticized what he said was a failure to call something out more recently. In 2011 the buildings condition was analyzed by Silver/Petrucelli + Associates, an architectural and engineering firm in Hamden. The firms report said that by all visible accounts, the tower is structurally sound.

The report included a photo of granite steps from the balcony to the tower that had fractured down the center. There was no recommendation that the fracture be examined more closely. But Bell believes it was significant and said it suggested some quite severe movement on the masonry."

Having this photograph and then calling this tower structurally sound is just, beats me, he said. I wouldnt have done it, but you know were all clever in hindsight. But this really worries me. I think this was irresponsible.

Silver/Petrucelli did not return messages seeking comment.

A photo included in a 2011 report by a Hamden architectural and engineering firm shows fractured granite steps between the balcony and the tower.

The firm concluded that the tower was structurally sound.

A photo included in a 2011 report by a Hamden architectural and engineering firm shows fractured granite steps between the balcony and the tower.

The firm concluded that the tower was structurally sound.

Bell noted that the report also mentioned damage in the area where he believes the crumbling masonry was but did not include a photo, which suggests there were no visible signs of structural cracks.

The absence of those photographs probably means there was nothing glaring, he said.

Except for the fractured steps, Bell said, he doesnt know of much visible damage in the days before the collapse, making it hard to say whether there was any sign of imminent catastrophe.

Thats whats so terrifying about this, he said. You would like to know that the building was really shouting and screaming, giving everybody a warning, and they were ignoring it or whatever.

I think the lesson is that the warning signs are minimal. So the responsibility is to actually monitor buildings in different ways, pick up minor movements, and thats the alarm bell to come and check it out and keep the building safe.

j.ruddy@theday.com

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Why did the church collapse? South African architect says he knows - theday.com

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Church rebuilds a year after highway demolition | News | thefacts.com - Brazosport Facts

ROCKFORD, Ill (RNS) In early April, just a few days after Easter, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was filled with sounds of new life.

And hammers.

Two years ago, the church, which has shrunk from a congregation of 400 to a few dozen worshippers, decided to donate its building to the YMCA of the Rock River Valley in hopes the building could be reborn as a local Y. After months of planning and fundraising the project will cost about $3 million the rebirth of Good Shepherd finally got underway in late March 2024.

On Tuesday, April 2, the Rev. Eric Lemonholm, pastor of Good Shepherd, and Brent Pentenburg, CEO of the YMCA of the Rock River Valley, took a tour of the 1950s-era church, which is being transformed into Good Shepherd YMCA.

There were smiles all around as a long-anticipated dream was becoming a reality.

We were once a big congregation in a big building, said Lemonholm. Then we became a small congregation in a big building for decades. The congregation knew something had to change.

In recent years, the people of Good Shepherd, like thousands of congregations nationwide, found themselves dealing with the new math of American religion. In 2000, the median-sized congregation in the United States had 137 people, while today that number stands at about 60, according to data from the Faith Communities Today study. That has left congregations like Good Shepherd with buildings they cant fill or afford to keep up.

Rather than closing its doors, the congregation at Good Shepherd decided to find a partner to share their space and continue the congregations work in the community. When the renovations are complete, the churchs former classrooms will house a fitness center and changing rooms, and the boxy sanctuary will be a brand-new gym.

The congregation will continue to hold services in a small chapel at the new YMCA facility when it opens. In doing so, theyll become part of a small but growing group of churches who decided to make the Y their permanent home.

Well be the church in the Y, said Lemonholm, who splits his time between Good Shepherd and another small Lutheran church.

Founded in 1844 as the Young Mens Christian Association, the YMCAsofficial mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all, but the group has no official ties to any church or denomination, instead partnering with people from all backgrounds. In some communities, the Christian part of the mission is stressed more than in other communities.

The YMCAs history and mission often make it a popular spot for startup congregations to meet before they can afford a building of their own. According to Tim Hallman, a former pastor and director of Christian emphasis for the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne, Indiana, several churches like that rent space from the Y in their community.

Continued here:
Near Chicago, a Lutheran Church Finds New Life at the YMCA - Church Leaders

A small 19th century church in Williamsburg that was once used as a synagogue will be demolished and replaced by two four-story apartment buildings, if the new owners plans go ahead.

A small 19th century church in Williamsburg that was once used as a synagogue will be demolished and replaced by two four-story apartment buildings, if the new owners plans go ahead. The quaint house of worship has sat on the corner of Leonard and Stagg streets since 1855, when it was built for a German congregation in what was then a German enclave in the borough.

Although the property is now the worse for wear and seemingly forgotten, its early 20th century tax photo shows an elegant Italianate building with neo-Classical details.

In February, the church, located at 157 Leonard Street, was sold by Action in Christ International to 157 Leonard Street LLC for $4 million, city records show. Joel Schwartz signed a mortgage for 157 Leonard St LLC.

A permit to demolish the building was applied for in September 2023, but has not been issued. Two new-building applications for the site, which includes the parking lot at 78 Stagg Street behind the church, have been submitted but neither permit has been issued yet. Both applications are for four-story apartment buildings; the one at 157 Leonard Street will have seven units and the one at 78 Stagg Street will have eight, the applications say.

Diego Aguilera Architects P.C. is the architect of record on both, and Hershey Silberstein of Blue Shine Builders Inc. is listed as the owner. No renderings have been posted on the construction fence or online.

Originally built as the German Evangelical Mission Church, in an area old maps show had a number of German businesses at the time, the structure started going up in the spring of 1855. The cornerstone was put in place in May, and in October the brick church was dedicated.

The buildings tall arched windows and doors were popular during the heyday of the Italianate style in the mid-19th century and also recall Romanesque Revival. The four pilasters across the front bring Greek Revival to the mix, and the front facades keystones are neo-Classical. Three stars of David on the roof and three more on the frieze, along with a plaque and a sign in Hebrew, identify the building as a synagogue. The cornice with its dentil molding and gable could be original or a later addition.

The church was substantially remodeled circa 1885 to 1895, and the congregation celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1903. Around the time of the celebration, a great number of Jewish families from the east side of Manhattan moved over to Brooklyn and settled in the immediate vicinity of the church, while the German congregants moved to other parts of the city, according to an early 20th century newspaper account of the church history. With a dwindling congregation, the church moved to Ridgewood in 1904 and laid the cornerstone for a new building there in 1907.

From at least 1903 through 1915, space in the basement of the church at 157 Leonard Street was rented for use by the local public school. During that time the ownership of the building changed, and by 1914 the Congregation Lovers of Peace Synagogue (also known as Ohev Sholom Anshei Sfard) was occupying the former church. The synagogue owned the property until 1970 when it transferred the deed to the building to the School of Biblical Instruction of Brooklyn (also known as Beth Talmud De Tora Brooklyn). In 1993, the school transferred the deed to Marcos Miranda of Action in Christ Church for $80,000.

Across the road from the church is Brooklyns oldest NYCHA development, Williamsburg Houses, which was built in the 1930s.

The Leonard Street church is the latest in a years-long building sell off by churches all over the borough, which have faced declining attendance and deteriorating structures while property values have skyrocketed. Many have been demolished for new housing, including the recently torn down St. Lucy-St. Patrick in Bed Stuy, but in some cases buildings are altered or extended, and occasionally preserved and adapted for new uses.

[Photos by Susan De Vries unless noted otherwise]