Midtown church history preserved
The historic church building’s unsafe tower has been lowered, the leaky slate roof replaced and the shaky windows swapped out for energy efficient models.
Ten years after purchasing Welland Avenue United Church at the corner of Henry Street, Community Living St. Catharines is nearing the end of its massive renovations.
Throughout the construction, the agency tried to preserve as many of the artifacts from the 1877-era church as possible.
“It’s been a labour of love, no mistake,” said Al Moreland, the charity’s chief executive officer, after a recent tour of the property at 79 Welland Ave.
The organization, which provides programs and supports for people with intellectual disabilities and their families, is now in the unusual position of owning a large supply of vintage construction materials and rare historic items.
There’s a huge stash of orange reclaimed brick that came from the tower, whole slate tiles from the roof and even the three metal spires, about 4.8 to 5.4 metres tall.
Mary Maida, fund development officer, said a dozen stained glass windows in frames between 3.3 and 4.8 metres tall were saved and stored, along with 200 or so smaller windows of coloured glass.
The plan is to have the items appraised, organize them in some fashion and sell them with proceeds going towards the charity’s expenses.
Community Living is also going to install a display case near the entrance to show some of the history of the church.
Maida said the organization reached out to St. Catharines Museum, the city’s heritage committee, Mayholme Foundation and John Brown Historical Society to be part of the reclamation and preservation efforts.
“We were very much interested in preserving the history,” Moreland said.
Community Living St. Catharines supports nearly 1,000 people and their families with residential programs, day programs and after-hours programs. It serves children and adults in St. Catharines, Thorold and Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The 65-year-old charity started renting space at the Welland Avenue United Church building in 2006 for its day programs. It bought the building and the adjoining structures two years later when the congregation amalgamated with St. Paul Street United to form Silver Spire Church.
About 100 people now attend Community Living programming in the building each day.
The interior went through extensive renovations to become accessible, including adding an elevator, and required new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
Single-pane glass windows were bowing in and were replaced with those of today’s standards.
A 1,350-square-metre addition was constructed behind the church in place of a former building that was difficult to heat or cool because of its nine-metre ceilings. The addition was designed to blend in with the existing brick church.
Outside, the iconic church tower was deemed structurally unsound and had to be reduced six metres in the interests of public safety. Moreland said an engineering report said it would have been five years before the tower would come down on its own.
A new metal roof was installed because pieces of slate were falling off and rotten wood was discovered underneath.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t want to keep it,” Maida said. “It was time. It had to be done.”
Other work included removing the spires and repainting the bases.
Moreland estimated the renovations and construction cost about $2.9 million. He said the organization hired contractors based on their ability to reclaim materials and was selective of who it chose. The result is a treasure trove for vintage construction and antique collectors.
It will give first dibs to Community Living staff who have lived through years of construction.
“We want to take care of our own, say thank you to our own folks here and whatever’s left over, we’ll give it over to bidding.”
Anyone interested in items can contact Maida at mmaida@clstcatharines.ca to be put on a list. She’ll contact interested parties when the organization is ready to sell.