Springfield Bishop Mitchell Rozanski met with workers and reviewed the demolition of a North Adams church that has stood for more than 150 years Friday.
Walking around two cranes, Rozanski met with workers taking down St. Francis church in downtown North Adams. About a week ago, debris started falling from the shuttered church, which was built in 1863. Engineers found that the structural integrity of the steeple and walls had been compromised, initiating an emergency demolition of the steeple, which was removed earlier this week. The rest of the church will be demolished. No timetable for completion has been given. Bishop Rozanski says it's too early to know what will happen to the property, which has been on the market since 2009 after the diocese closed a number of churches, including St. Francis.
After debris started falling off the church, nearby streets were closed down and people living and working in nearby buildings were told to stay away. A toy store owner says business slowed significantly this week, even though people were able to access the area by Wednesday.
There have been efforts to market the church property and there is interest from potential developers. Most recently, CVS Pharmacy expressed interest, but that was met with opposition from a citizens group called Save St. Francis. The group collected thousands of signatures to prevent demolition and gained the support of Mayor Richard Alcombright. In February 2014, CVS announced it was not pursuing plans to locate a store at the site.
Some in the community have blamed the city for getting in the way of redevelopment plans, but today Mayor Alcombright stood by his efforts to maintain the city's history — North Adams is in fact called "The Steeple City." Its minor league baseball team even bears the name "Steeplecats."
Reverend William Cyr, of nearby St. Elizabeth's, which absorbed parishioners from St. Francis, lived in the rectory next to the crumbling church, which he also oversaw. He says it's a sad thing to see the city's oldest Roman Catholic church come down. He added that while the petition to block demolition may have had good intentions, it fouled up plans to reuse the property.
The rectory will stand and the cross that adorned the top of the steeple has been donated to an area historical society. Bricks from St. Francis will be available as mementos as well.
