Back in December of last year I wrote a history of Our Lady of Lourdes Church; my brother Paul also provided additional photos which are on my website. Now that I’m in town preparing to relocate back to Buffalo one of my first stops was my old family church at Main and Best–and now I see the church is going to be sold at auction September 13.
Some of the boards over the massive windows are gone and I see one of the roof dormers has been damaged (no doubt from last winters windstorms), but the exterior masonry still appears sound. I went to the auctioneer’s website which lists the details of the property:
– Architecturally Significant Building
– Sq. Ft. : Approx. 10,950
– Lot Size: 82×243 (.45 Acres)
– Assessed Value: $135,000
– Formerly used as a Our Lady of Lourdes Church
– French Influenced Romanesque-Renaissance Facade Remains
– Surfaced parking in rear of Church
– Bio Medical Campus nearby
– Taxes Approx. $4,320
I took a walk around the building and was surprised to see something I’d never notice before: Four cornerstones on the Main Street side of the building, showing the church’s history:
Our Lady Of Lourdes 1898
Notre Dame De Lourdes 1898
St. Pierre’s 1850-1898
St. Peter’s 1850-1898
Lourdes was boarded up and its members reassigned to other parishes in 1993; a salvage company gutted the interior removing the quarter-sawn oak paneling, marble floors, and wooden pews. The statuary now rests at a Catholic cemetary in Hamburg.
I feel this is a magnificent structure in a prime location that must be saved…a fabulous opportunity for adaptive reuse.
Complete details are on the auctioneer’s website.
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