Saint John The Evangelist is set to be razed on May 9th - according to a man in charge of overseeing the demolition for the Diocese of Philadelphia. He also mentioned that 3rd Street in front of the church will be closed Thursday to make space for the crane. The Rectory next door is coming down that day as well.
That's right - the corner of 3rd and Reed Street will look a lot different in little less than a week. As you may have heard, the church will make way for twelve new condos. This was confirmed at the April 10th Pennsport Civic Meeting.
According to demolition manager, who was inside the building this afternoon, it's been a slow process gutting the old church. A few weeks back, the remarkable wrought iron fencing that once surrounded the church came down out of nowhere. It was apparently sold off by the new developers.
He mentioned that no one was allowed in the church as the floors and staircases are in the process of being ripped out. The goal is to salvage as much as they can but the church has been in disrepair.
As for the beautiful stained glass windows, he mentioned that those have come out over the past couple of days and that the next big project is removing the old pipe organ, which is large. It's coming out "piece by piece."
He added, "Yeah, it's a damn shame."
However, he mentioned that the plans for the new condo's were "really nice." The renderings of the new project are apparently available to the public at the Pennsport Market and Deli located at the corner of Moyamensing Avenue and Wilder Street.
Saint John The Evangelist is still listed in the parish directory of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania's website.
If anyone has pictures of the inside of this church, in it's hey-day or in it's ruin, please send them along. I'd love to report them.
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