If St. Gerard's is indeed going to be torn down, I hope some of the following happen: The windows, pews and other iconic things be removed and stored somewhere. Even if these things are sold, they should be sold by the Church and not by some random robber.
What I am guessing is, is that the Diocese can sell the property faster with out a big old church. Who knows what will go there, maybe a parking lot.
What would you use this building for Steel? Looks like a mighty expensive community center maybe.
National Trust has an important link with additional resources on their site - Historic Houses of Worship.
Absent some strategic planning and proactive and sustained community involvement St. Gerard's will certainly share the same fate as other east side sites such as St. Matthew's (Ferry/Moselle) and Transfiguration (Sycamore/Mills).
Last I heard St. Matthew's is still for sale. Structurally it appears to be in very good shape and might appeal to a group of artists for some amazing loft conversion project.
wow I didn't realize there was a church of this style in Buffalo. This is a rather unique building even in a city with as many churches as we have. What a shame. Reminds me of many of the churches I visited in Rome.
Just out of curiosity, how much would a building like this sell for? Whoever gets it, I hope they do it justice and not just rape a pillage it like so many of the other beautiful buildings we have lost in Buffalo.
I'm just guessing here, but I'm sure that the diocese is flipping the bill for the demo of the church.
If a former church could be converted into a community center, an auditorium, a performing arts, a museum, etc
There are quite a few churches that are closing and we have a responsibility to keep these churches intact and find a re-use for them even if its temporary because these neighborhoods will have a much harder time coming back if these churches are lost.
and even though bailey and delevan isnt the best area...its still a very dense area and its not as far gone as the Fillmore area or the Jefferson/Michigan areas....which means that this could very easily be converted into a number of community uses.....especially if there is a light rail extension to the airport, or a reactivation of the Central Terminal or if growth along the Bailey corridor.
The saddest thing about Buffalos inner city neighborhoods and suburbs is that they lack town centers which could act as a meeting place....but this could be a great first step for this area.
PS I havent checked but was there a religious school associated withthis church....is it possible a charter school might be interested in this building and then the church could really act as a community center, school auditorium, etc.
The only thing keeping it from being demolished right away is that nobody will be clamoring for available land at Bailey and Delavan. That's part of the problem with most of the churches being closed is that the neighborhoods within walking distance (the traditional limits of a parish) are not places people want to be anymore. Well, apparently not Catholics, anyway. It's really not that far for someone from Cheektowaga to travel here for mass, but clearly they don't. The abundance of vacant housing nearby makes residential conversion difficult. But it would be impossible to convert this space to residential without ruining the space.
It's such a shame how many churches are potentially going to be lost. In a perfect world we'd have a dozen more Ani DiFrancos out there to save the day. There's got to be a creative way to keep this preserved as a community facility. Maybe a public library? I'm sure the nearest one now is undersized. Just a thought.
I love the idea of a library....and I think there are alot of people that would support increasing the subsidy to the Erie County Library to take these buildings for Books. I mean it wouldnt be permanent perhaps a decade and by that time a re-development opportunity would have presented itself
The library idea would only work assuming the existing library buildings could be re-used or something.. Then again many library buildings are rather nice structures and the library system just went through the process of being downsized themselves.
Still such a shame this interior of this church is really unique.
Convert it into a homeless shelter, Buffalo has a lack of beds for the homeless, especially families with children.
Steel, you are overlooking the obvious fact that religion plays much less of a role in people's everyday lives than it did not too long in the past.
Today, there are a lot less practicing catholics; it makes logical sense that the church has no need to operate nearly as many churches anymore as they did in the old days. Most of the Buffalo area's remaining Catholics (like much of the American population in general) have chosen to eschew the old tight-knit neighborhoods that gave birth to these magnificent churches. These buildings are left in undesirable cesspools of socially-alienating activity.
What do you suggest is done with these buildings when there is a severe lack of wealth and community will to keep them viable?
Didn't Jesus head toward the undesirable cesspools rather than away from them? Just a thought.
Pretty bold statement from a non-Catholic and non-Buffalonian living in Chicago. Do something for the city instead of just writing about it from 500 miles away.
Not a bold statement at all. And neither Catholicism nor location affects the worth of the statement.
Also, highlighting a problem is DOING SOMETHING about it. Maybe not enough, if your mind, but holding people to some unrealistic standard of 'solve the problem or don't speak of it' is idiotic.
Timatbuffalo
There are many great re-uses for these beautiful properties, one being a mausoleum. I have often wondered with the use of land and the large expense of labor why with great buildings like these that they wouldn’t serve our people as places of rest. There would then be a trust to keep the maintenance of the property forever and with the high cost of mowing all the time, trimming and plowing. I am quite sure the neighbors would rather be inside to visit their departed in a magnificent structure than outside in the rain and cold. Cremation and internment in a beautiful urn or vault would allow a great deal of parishioners to stay in their neighborhood and families to visit comfortably. Give it some thought.
Merry Christmas!
Didn't Jesus head toward the undesirable cesspools rather than away from them? Just a thought.
Pshhht....like the Catholic Church was ever actually about practicing Jesus' examples. From the Council of Nicea on...the Church hierarchy's primary goal has been power and control.
Haha, I had a good laugh there.
Steel - Are you inferring that the East Side is an undesirable cesspool?
Tinker - I am inferring exactly that. Steel, don't tense up from the facts. More welfare recipients and low-income housing is in that neighborhood than anywhere else in Buffalo. The two usually go hand-in-hand. Fact: the East Side is the lowest income portion of the second brokest city in the nation; slightly better than Detroit. Do you homework kids!!
why not fix the neighborhood surrounding the church...if there was a congregation that used this place then the church would be vital. INstead this is an area of high crime, and low hope. it is not the diocese fault, it is not the individuals fault. it is our collective faults for allowing people in our own society, our neighbors! to not help them, not understand the blight of urban decay, to keep mindlessly developming corn feilds in Clarance! WAKE UP PEOPLE!
And BTW, this is one of the most remarkable pieces of Architecture in New York State...let alone Buffalo. There are alot of Vatican parrallels in the architecture...truely a cool place!
^^ You said it quite well, mjman4.
why not fix the neighborhood surrounding the church
This goes against core American values of new new new, consume consume consume, bigger is always better! We don't fix shit that could be easily fixed, we always opt to buy new. At sight of first trouble, we throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is America, the land of constantly chasing the newest thrill.
Can't completely blame the people though. Slightly before, during, and after WW2 the federal govt. drafted up a housing policy that would encourage banks to starve financing to homeowners who wanted upgrade their older homes in established urban neighborhood. Instead the FHA would fling dirt-cheap, federally-insured mortgages at returning GIs and their families who wanted to built brand new houses on the undeveloped urban fringe. Yes, new neighborhoods were certainly needed but the policy went about it all wrong, The planning of the time called for suburbs that would turn their back on their host cities, these policies completely left the cities to die.
Again, going back to the core question, why not fix the neighborhood surrounding the church... I believe it's too late now. These neighborhoods could have been fixed as late as the 70s, but now they're gone beyond the point of no return. Either rebuild completely or let these areas continue to rot to nothingness.
Well, if this fine edifice were to meet the wrecking ball, it would be a "fait" accompli, eh, STEEL? As for your depiction of Jesus "heading for the cesspools rather than away from them", doesn't that defeat the whole argument for retaining these decadent monuments to religious vanity? Wouldn't it be better to postulate that Christ woud have loved the adornments of these stone walls? That if Jesus returned to this plane, he would head straight for a Lexus dealership where the local bishop can be found worming out of his lease? Didn't Moses instigate The Flight Out Of Egypt because the prawn salad was wilting under the hot Cairo sun?
Well the church could have made a stand but they follow exactly what wizardofza said, new new new. Consume new land in the burbs and leave those in the big bad city to rot.
Why preach to help the poor near the poor, it makes more sense to teach about helping those in need surrounding by no one in need. It is so horribly anti-christian it amazes me. Feed the needs, clothe the naked, live humble lives.... all of these things hit a real note in these neighborhoods. But instead they attend an auditorium called a church and drive home in a Hummer wearing their 300 dollar Sunday best.
These neighborhoods are never without hope, but without the institutions that inspire hope (the church) it might as well be. What is more depressing than living near an abandoned church.
Might as well go and post a sign on the front door that says Even god doesn't want his house here, why the hell are you still here?..
a community center is a horrible idea. The utilities in that place are probably astronomical. It probably costs thousands a month in the winter to heat that massive place. Why build more artsy lofts in a city with a dwindling population. Lets face it, an urban professional doesn't want to live in that neighborhood. Bottom line is, without improved industry no one can afford anything. Low wage jobs will rise, more Wendy's will be built. There are probably more teachers per capita than anywhere else in the country. All we have are hospitals, schools, banks, and collections agencies. There is nothing the elected officials of Buffalo can do without the support of Albany and state wide changes, particularly taxes. There are no incentives for new industries to move into an ultra high taxed state. There are no incentives for a family to stay in a ever increasing taxed state. People will continue to leave the state because they cannot afford to live here anymore. How sad is that. Can't afford to live in freaking WNY?! The misery continues. Cold weather, losing football team, choke hockey team, shots of crown royal, and Meg Bottoms.
stopmegbottoms.com
nicely put sbrof. From the selfish childlike parishoners to the higher ups that act like parents too scared to disapline their kids the Catholic Diocese is a mess. Spoiled kids and clueless parents give us a wonderful mess. Save the "you must say "Merry Christmas"" speech and instead get your ass down to worship with those truely in need. This is also known as being christian.
Of coarse Jesus wouldn't say to build something like this, but these were built by parishoners in a growing metropolitan area who we so devout they put thier time, talent, money and dedication into these testaments of thier faith while living in modest homes nearby. Today we have cheapy built places of worship while the onus is put on the individual and thier own private homes.
For a while I went to church just to help perserve a place like this even though I wasn't at all religious. That the own religion puts zero value in them or those in need around them can sum up exaclty why the religion holds zero value to me.
Religion aside, I'm also amazed that we as a society are not concerned with the potential loss of these structures. Why are we so disinvested in our area? why does our pride stop at our property line? Are that scared of failure that we need to separate ourselves from everything? Are we content with asphaut parking lots and cinder block buildings as the nicest things we have to offer as a society?
Places like this will never be built again in our lifetime or possibly ever. I wish someone could put some $$$ figures on what it would cost to build something like this out of the same materials today. But we are content with knocking them down, never to be seen again continuing the slide of this area to having nothing of value. Lets just keep building the crap that has a return on investment of 5 years and is truely disposable like everything else in our lives.
I worship at the altar of modernist architecture. My god scorns late 19th century Italianate Renaissance Revival.
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