St. Mary Renovations Near Complete

The interior renovations are complete at St. Mary's in Norwalk. The ceiling has been fixed, everything painted, and new floor. All that is left is some work on the exterior (tuck pointing, etc.).

Storm Damage - St. Mary Norwalk

In the recent storms that moved their way through Ohio, Norwalk was hit particularly hard, with many damaged buildings and homes. The First Baptist Church (Oasis of God) had one of it's turrets blown off (see picture from wkyc.com). It was reported that winds of up to 100 mph blew through the area.


St. Mary's in Norwalk was also damaged. Much of the masonry at the top of the tower was disturbed. Some even fell to the ground and onto the church roof, causing damage to the roof and plaster ceiling inside. The damage is severe enough that the streets surrounding the church are closed in case of further structural failure, and all masses and other events have been moved to the school gym. See the Norwalk Reflector article below:

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/3743856

Interestingly enough, this is not the first time the steeple has suffered wind damage. A wind storm in the 50's damaged the original ornamentation at the base of the steeple. See the below blog post for a picture.

http://catholictoledo.blogspot.com/2007/04/st-mary-norwalk_20.html

Plans for the future of the steeple and tower are to be determined. See below for pictures of the exterior damage. Note the masonry that is shifted, missing or pulling away from the structure. Extensive interior damage was also noted by engineers. I do not have any pictures of interior damage at this point in time.

I will post an update once further plans are outlined. Until then, updates of the situation can be followed on the parish's Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Mary-Mother-of-the-Redeemer-Catholic-Church/188089864270

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Mike Doughty)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

(Photo: Janotta & Herner)

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In other news, this is what it looks like when a steeple starts to come down:

St. James Catholic Church, Chicago IL. (After a long delayed promise of posting, here is one picture. I will make a detailed post when demolition is completed.)

Name That Saint! [Updated!]

I could have sworn I made a post about this years ago, but I could not come across it. So, here I am "posting again". The following pictures are details of the Nave windows at St. Mary's in Norwalk. Each window has two saints. None of them have labels. A few are obvious, but I have never been able to I.D. all of them, nor has anyone else I know.

Leave a comment if you know any of them! Click on the picture for a larger image.

[UPDATE: I've put some names in. If they do not have ??'s then they are for certain that saint. The ones with ??'s are probably's, and the rest are still unknown.]

P.S. - I intend to post an update on St. James in Chicago soon. Demolition has started, but is going slowly.

Saint #1
(??Catherine of Siena??)

Saint #2

Saint #3

Saint #4
(St. Patrick)

Saint #5
(??St. Anthony??)

Saint #6
(St. Dominic)

Saint #7
(St. Helena)

Saint #8
(??St. Paul??)

Saint #9

Saint #10

Saint #11
(??St. Joseph??)

Saint #12
(??Mary With
Baby Jesus??)

Saint #13
(??St. Francis of Assisi??)

Saint #14
(??John the Baptist??)

Saint #15
(??Bartholomew
the Apostle??)

Saint #16

The Bells of St. Mary's: Real and fake

Here is a video of the real bell at St. Mary's and the digital bells playing.

Confirmation

Not sure who the priest was...help me out?

Century House Auction

At St. Mary's in Norwalk Ohio, we are going to be tearing down the former convent (called "The Century House). We have already had our auction for our parishioners, now we are opening it to the public. This Saturday (the 19th), there will be a public auction from 9am to 12pm. The auction is for anything and everything in the Century House that anyone wants. From floorboards to doorknobs to trim. Whatever is in there is up for grabs. It will be set up like a silent auction. Folks interested in old architecture or that collect/salvage things from old houses may especially want to attend this auction.
For more information, please refer TO THIS PAGE (http://www.stmarynorwalk.org/centuryhouse/chouse.htm) on our website.

The address is 38 W. League Street, Norwalk Ohio.

If you have any questions, you may e-mail me (the webmaster (afries52@neo.rr.com) or call the Rectory @ 419-668-2005

Yes...even the safe is up for grabs...pity.

A little History...

The Century House was built in 1907 for $15,000. The house is made of brick and limestone and has approximately 2200 square feet on two floors. The house was used as the pastor's residence until 1964 when the present rectory was built. The building was then renovated in 1965 and used for a convent in the fall of 1965. A hot water baseboard heating system was installed in 1974. The building served as a convent until 1989 when the sisters moved in with the St. Paul sisters. The building was then used for meetings and was also used as a dressing area for brides before weddings. It was at this time renamed the "Century House". It was again renovated for use as a preschool in the year 1992. It has been used as a preschool for 14 years. It is now used for storage.