The steeple of the abandoned former St. Cecilia’s Chapel at 1340 Perkiomen Ave. shows signs of imminent collapse with severe cracks in the stonework. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)
The derelict building at the corner of Perkiomen Avenue and Spruce Streets was a concern long before part of the former church’s tower showed signs of instability Friday afternoon.
“We had kept an eye on this,” Reading Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said Friday afternoon at the scene.
The emergency demolition on the bell tower section of the building at 1345 Perkiomen Ave. will begin Monday morning due Saturday’s rain, Kirk Litzenberger of the city fire marshal’s office stated.
Searfoss said the city’s building and trades division immediately reached out to one of its emergency demolition contractors Friday after the situation became 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 said.
The former church already had masonry problems before the situation became acute Friday, Searfoss said.
The bell tower’s pyramidal roof fell into the building some time ago, and a crack developed on the tower’s western side.
Drone images showed separation of the joints and spacing between the stones that were aggravated by the seasonal freeze and thaw cycles, he said.
The emergency resulted in sections of both streets being closed for public safety. The roadways are anticipated to remain closed until Monday, city officials said, noting rain may impact the timeline.
Concerns about the building were raised in meetings of the Reading Redevelopment Authority and City Council more than a year ago, Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. said.
“Nothing was done about it when it should have been done,” he said.
The building is in District 2, which the councilman represents.
Baez’s predecessor in council, Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz, said the church use was abandoned about 15 years ago.
At that time, the building was already in an advanced state of decay, she said.
“It wasn’t safe to walk on the second floor, because everything had rotted out,” Goodman-Hinnershitz said.
The old church has an interesting history, local historian George M. Meiser IX said.
Originally St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church, it was built as a mission chapel and funded by the Heizmann family, owners of the now defunct Penn Hardware Company, he said.
“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,” said Joseph Webb, creator of the GoReadingBerks Facebook page.
Webb said the handsome structure was designed in the rustic Gothic style. It is 34-by-66 feet, with a 12-foot-square tower in the corner. The interior featured an altar made in Italy of Carrara marble and an open ceiling with yellow-pine timber work.
Meiser and Webb said the stained glass windows, gifts of Mary Cecilia Heizmann’s daughters, were made in Munich, Germany. Along with other artifacts, they were moved to the more recently built Chapel of the Resurrection in Gethsemane Cemetery, Laureldale.
The property is owned by Total Family Christian Center Inc., according to online county records.
“Communication with the property owner has been problematic and almost nonexistent,” Searfoss said.
Baez said it is sad to lose a part of Reading’s history and a once-fine architectural gem.
“It’s just a shame,” he said, “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 offers salvaged, donated and consigned items from building demolitions, restorations and rehab projects for sale to the public for use in restoration and adaptive reuse projects.
Council President Donna Reed said the right of salvage may depend on the demolition contract.
The former church is just one of close to 300 certified blighted properties on Reading’s official list.
“We have so many blighted properties in the city,” Reed said, “And for whatever reasons, we’re not handling them as we ought to. “We’ve got to get a better handle on this.”
That may mean strengthening legislation or urging the administration to act more quickly on blighted buildings, she said.
“Thank goodness, this pretty much fell in itself as opposed to falling into the street and hurting someone, which is a real concern,” Reed said.
The council president said she is concerned about what will happen to the vacant lot left on the corner if the building is fully demolished.
“What’s going to happen with an empty lot?” she asked. “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.”
