About ACHP 
ACHP News
National Historic
Preservation
Program
Working with
Section 106
Federal, State, & Tribal Programs
Training & Education
Publications
Search
Home
Working with Section 106 ACHP
Case Digest Summer
2004 Pennsylvania: Demolition of St. Mary’s Roman
Catholic Church, Somerset County
Demolition of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Somerset County
Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture
|
Once a contributing property to the Windber Historic District in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, a Romanesque Revival style church founded by Hungarian immigrants was purchased by a biomedical research company. The company had the deteriorating building demolished before the Section 106 review process could be triggered by the company’s application for a Federal loan guarantee to build a new facility. As part of a recently signed agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the ACHP, and historic preservation organizations, the company will work with local organizations to promote heritage tourism, provide training on historic preservation for elected and civic leaders, and prepare an educational display on the church and its congregation. |
In 2003, a biomedical research company requested a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a new building in the Windber Historic District in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Somerset County, Pennsylvania (photo courtesy of Charles Fox, Somerset Historical Center)
In anticipation of receiving the loan, the company bought a deteriorating church building and had it demolished before the loan could be approved. As Federal money, the loan would have triggered Section 106 review of the project’s effects on the historic church.
Site of the former St. Mary’s Church (photo: ACHP staff)
Built in 1927, the church was a contributing element to the Windber Historic District and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Johnstown architect Walter Myton in a Romanesque Revival style, with a domed central tower, paired side towers, and a cladding of mottled tapestry brick.
The church was founded and led by a Hungarian/Hungarian-American population until the building was demolished in 2003 by the biomedical research facility that purchased it for the land. The company’s actions could be considered anticipatory demolition—when an applicant destroys or harms a historic property to avoid Section 106 review.
A Memorandum of Agreement was signed, however, to mitigate the adverse effect of removing the church, and is expected to have a positive effect on the community.
The agreement was signed among parties including the ACHP, the biomedical research company, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Officer, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Windber Area Historical Society.
It requires, for example, that the new research facility’s design be approved by the State Historic Preservation Officer. It also states that the company will install a plaque and interpretive sign on the site.
The architect for the future facility indicates that stones from the church’s foundation will be incorporated in a monument wall outside of the new building, as a tribute to former parishioners and the historic preservation community.
In addition, the company will help donate materials from the church to a local museum and prepare an educational display on the church and its congregation.
The company will also work with local organizations to promote heritage tourism, provide training on historic preservation for elected and civic leaders, and prepare a Historic Preservation Plan for the borough’s historic district.
Staff contact: Stephen
Del Sordo
Posted August 9, 2004
Return to Top