Thursday, May 16, 2013
After more than 60 years underground, workers developing the former St. Joseph Church site recently unearthed and reburied a 12-foot statue of St. Joseph.
Workers developing the former St. Joseph Church site on Lafayette Street in Salem recently unearthed a piece of the city's past. Although many of the church's former parishioners knew a statue of St. Joseph was buried somewhere under the building, few knew its exact location, so pinpointing where it was on the site was a tall task for the developer, according to this story published by the Boston Globe. A big thank you to Lisa Alberghini, President of the Boston-based Planning Office for Urban Affairs, for sending along the two photos above, which were taken earlier this month at the location where the statue was reburied.
42.517236
-70.892977
135 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-statue-unearthed-on-lafayette-street
/locations/9393066
42.516469
-70.892843
150 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-statue-unearthed-on-lafayette-street
/locations/9393067
Monday, April 8, 2013
A local man has used LEGOs to bring Salem's St. Joseph Church back to life.
For the former St. Joseph Church parishioners who crowded into Sunday's time capsule opening at St. James Church in Salem, the unveiling of a remarkable LEGO replica was very special. While many city residents watched on with sadness as St. Joseph Church was torn down brick by brick, former parishioner John Walker was hard at work using LEGOs to put his replica together. Walker used more than 20,000 individual LEGO pieces to build the mini-St. Joseph Church - and he's not done - the roof is still a work in progress, he said. Click the video above for a closer look at the LEGO replica. What do you think of Walker's creation? Let us know in the comments section below.
42.5198
-70.9057
St. James Parish
161 Federal St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-church-resurrected-in-lego-form
772246
/locations/9188589
42.52066
-70.893549
1 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-church-resurrected-in-lego-form
/locations/9188591
42.517236
-70.892977
135 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-church-resurrected-in-lego-form
/locations/9188590
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The demolition is over and the digging is underway at the former St. Joseph Church site.
Now that the demolition of St. Joseph Church has been completed, crews working on Lafayette Street have turned their attention to digging out the foundation of the building that will replace it. We shot the video above on Monday afternoon. Do you have photos or videos of the project that you'd like to share with your neighbors? You can do so right here, just click the upload photos and videos button above.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Our readers seem divided regarding the demolition of St. Joseph's Church. Where do you stand?
The demolition of Salem's St. Joseph's Church on Lafayette Street continued Thursday as demo crews tore down the rear quarter of the building. On Wednesday afternoon, a small crowd gathered to watch the church's trademark steeple come down. The ongoing demolition project has prompted many of our readers to share their feelings on Salem Patch and our comments section has featured a wide range of opinions on the issue. Some have said they will miss their childhood church - others are excited about the upcoming construction of a new development in downtown Salem. --- Mike Blatty: Now I will never know where I left my car. :( adrienne: <sigh> that steeple was the only thing pleasant to look at the neighborhood! Lisa Connolly: I viewed it's …
42.517662
-70.89305
123 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/glad-or-sad-st-joseph-church-demolition-video
/locations/8569714
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
St. Joseph Church's trademark steeple was torn down Wednesday afternoon.
The demolition of St. Joseph Church continued Wednesday afternoon as demo crews tore down the church's well-known steeple. A small crowd gathered at about 2 p.m. to watch the steeple come down. Click Here for a video of workers tearing down the convent last month. The convent and ajoined church are being torn down to make way for a development that is expected to include 51 apartments, as well as community and retail space. In 2004, during a reconsolidation by the Archdiocese of Boston, 65 churches were closed. St. Joseph’s was among those on the list. Click Here for an interesting story by Salem Patch columnist Stewart Lytle that delves into the history behind the building.
42.517236
-70.892977
135 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/st-joseph-church-steeple-comes-down
/locations/8561826
Friday, December 21, 2012
A portion of the former convent building behind St. Joseph Church came down Thursday afternoon.
The demolition of St. Joseph Church kicked off Wednesday as demo crews worked to reduce the building that used to house the church's convent to rubble. The convent and ajoined church are being torn down to make way for a development that is expected to include 51 apartments, as well as community and retail space. In 2004, during a reconsolidation by the Archdiocese of Boston, 65 churches were closed. St. Joseph’s was among those on the list. Click Here for an interesting story by Salem Patch contributor Stewart Lytle that delves into the history behind the building.
42.52066
-70.893549
1 Lafayette St, Salem, MA
/articles/video-demolition-underway-at-st-joseph-church
/locations/8431867
Ray Walker
6:47 pm on Tuesday, April 9, 2013
This Lego replica of St. Joseph's Church is a masterpiece which will, hopefully, ease the pain of the thousands of Salem residents--like our families--whose lives (and life events) revolved around St. Joseph's. And, as John Walker's Dad, I could not be more proud. He selflessly--and at his own expense--did something to help in this emotional transition. He worked tirelessly to meticulously … more ›