The steeple of the deserted former St. Cecilia’s Chapel at 1340 Perkiomen Ave. exhibits indicators of imminent collapse with extreme cracks within the stonework. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
The derelict constructing on the nook of Perkiomen Avenue and Spruce Streets was a priority lengthy earlier than a part of the previous church’s tower confirmed indicators of instability Friday afternoon.
“We had kept an eye on this,” Studying Fireplace Marshal Jeremy Searfoss mentioned Friday afternoon on the scene.
The emergency demolition on the bell tower part of the constructing at 1345 Perkiomen Ave. will start Monday morning resulting from Saturday’s rain, Kirk Litzenberger of town hearth marshal’s workplace said.
Searfoss mentioned town’s constructing and trades division instantly reached out to one in every of its emergency demolition contractors Friday after the scenario turned precarious.
“Because this is a public risk, it is necessary to demolish a portion of this (the bell tower) to get it down to a point where at least it’s stable,” he mentioned.
The previous church already had masonry issues earlier than the scenario turned acute Friday, Searfoss mentioned.
The bell tower’s pyramidal roof fell into the constructing a while in the past, and a crack developed on the tower’s western facet.
Drone pictures confirmed separation of the joints and spacing between the stones that had been aggravated by the seasonal freeze and thaw cycles, he mentioned.
The emergency resulted in sections of each streets being closed for public security. The roadways are anticipated to stay closed till the work is accomplished, metropolis officers mentioned.
Issues concerning the constructing had been raised in conferences of the Studying Redevelopment Authority and Metropolis Council greater than a 12 months in the past, Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. mentioned.
“Nothing was done about it when it should have been done,” he mentioned.
The constructing is in District 2, which the councilman represents.
Baez’s predecessor in council, Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz, mentioned the church use was deserted about 15 years in the past.
At the moment, the constructing was already in a sophisticated state of decay, she mentioned.
“It wasn’t safe to walk on the second floor, because everything had rotted out,” Goodman-Hinnershitz mentioned.
The outdated church has an attention-grabbing historical past, native historian George M. Meiser IX mentioned.
Initially St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, it was constructed as a mission chapel and funded by the Heizmann household, house owners of the now defunct Penn {Hardware} Firm, he mentioned.
“The beautiful brownstone chapel was built in 1892 by Theodore I. Heizmann, in memory of his mother, Mary Cecilia Heizmann, and was dedicated Friday, Nov. 22, 1895,” mentioned Joseph Webb, creator of the GoReadingBerks Fb web page.
Webb mentioned the good-looking construction was designed within the rustic Gothic type. It’s 34-by-66 toes, with a 12-foot-square tower within the nook. The inside featured an altar made in Italy of Carrara marble and an open ceiling with yellow-pine timber work.
Meiser and Webb mentioned the stained glass home windows, presents of Mary Cecilia Heizmann’s daughters, had been made in Munich, Germany. Together with different artifacts, they had been moved to the extra lately constructed Chapel of the Resurrection in Gethsemane Cemetery, Laureldale.
The property is owned by Whole Household Christian Heart Inc., in keeping with on-line county data.
“Communication with the property owner has been problematic and almost nonexistent,” Searfoss mentioned.
Baez mentioned it’s unhappy to lose part of Studying’s historical past and a once-fine architectural gem.
“It’s just a shame,” he mentioned, “but at this point, where it’s at, I certainly think that the (Centre Park Historic District) Artifacts Bank should have precedence over the rights of anything that can be salvaged.”
The nonprofit gives salvaged, donated and consigned objects from constructing demolitions, restorations and rehab tasks on the market to the general public to be used in restoration and adaptive reuse tasks.
Council President Donna Reed mentioned the best of salvage might depend upon the demolition contract.
The previous church is only one of near 300 licensed blighted properties on Studying’s official listing.
“We have so many blighted properties in the city,” Reed mentioned, “And for whatever reasons, we’re not handling them as we ought to. We’ve got to get a better handle on this.”
That will imply strengthening laws or urging the administration to behave extra rapidly on blighted buildings, she mentioned.
“Thank goodness, this pretty much fell in itself as opposed to falling into the street and hurting someone, which is a real concern,” Reed mentioned.
The council president mentioned she is worried about what is going to occur to the vacant lot left on the nook if the constructing is absolutely demolished.
“What’s going to happen with an empty lot?” she requested. “People are going to dump on it and it’s not going to help the neighborhood or the neighbors who take care of their properties. It angers me.”
“Well bless their hearts.”
