For more than 85 years, the steeple at the First Unitarian Church on Elm Street has been part of the local skyline in the Wick Park neighborhood on the North Side of Youngstown.
Tuesday, it was lifted into the sky, then down, as crews removed the steeple from the top of church. It will be stored until a decision can be made if it should be repaired or replaced.
Crews from Brock Builders Construction Co. spent the better part of a week getting the steeple ready to be removed.
Article Photos
Crews from Brock Builders Construction Co. in Youngstown ease the steeple down from the top of the First Unitarian Church on Elm Street in Youngstown after it was removed.
Tribune Chronicle photo / Joe Gorman
Once a giant crane began lifting on Tuesday, the entire process took no more than five minutes.
The steeple was lowered to the ground before it was prepared to be transported to the CASTLO Industrial Park, where it will be stored.
The Rev. Matt Alspaugh, pastor of the church, said the steeple has fallen into disrepair and was on the verge of becoming structurally unsound.
The cost for removing the steeple was about $30,000 and came from an endowment, Alspaugh said. Estimates of getting a new steeple range as high as $250,000, he said.
''We've made no decision as to what we're going to do yet,'' Alspaugh said.
In the meantime, the construction company will cap the hole made by the removal of the steeple, Alspaugh said.
The church building was constructed in 1925, he said.