St. Nicholas Church to be sold (Pittsburgh, Millvale: sales, neighborhood, buying)

[ctoocheck]

Lamar Advertising Inc. is poised to buy the historic St. Nicholas Church property in Troy Hill. The Diocese of Pittsburgh yesterday announced a sales agreement with the billboard advertising firm.

Read more: Lamar plans to buy historic St. Nicholas Church in Troy Hill

I feel like the church should be preserved, but it's in such a terrible, terrible location. Any thoughts?

[BrianTH]

It is already a city historic landmark and should definitely be preserved. It will be interesting to see the plan referenced in the article for an immigration museum.

[Hopes]

If they want to preserve it, they need to move it. PennDot has been buying up all of the property alone Route 28 to make the highway wider. It's silly to build the highway around it--above it---below it. Look at that isolated church on route 279. I don't think many people attend that church. Few people attended St. Nicholas either.

[groar]

i don't know what kind of congregation they had, but the maxo vanko murals inside got a lot of visitors.

can you still go there now, or is it closed up?

[Hopes]

It has looked closed for a few years. I never see any cars in the parking lot. Prior to the big push by the congregation to save the church, a random car there on occassion.

[Geeo]

The Maxo Vanko murals were not in the St. Nicholas Church on the North side - they have always been and still are in St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, and the murals do get a lot of visitors. I think if the murals had been in the North Side Church, there would have been a much greater protest. So they are alive and well in Millvale.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Geeo

The Maxo Vanko murals were not in the St. Nicholas Church on the North side - they have always been and still are in St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale, and the murals do get a lot of visitors. I think if the murals had been in the North Side Church, there would have been a much greater protest. So they are alive and well in Millvale.

My sister loves the Millvale church because she likes masses on the morbid side. Are the murals morbid too?

[BrianTH]

I don't think they can really move it, since the site also includes a grotto built into the hill (hopefully this Street View image captures it):

st nicholas church pittsburgh - Google Maps

Anyway, according to the article, PennDOT has already made its peace with the church:

PennDOT was planning to demolish it for road expansion but changed its design last year after neighborhood residents, preservation groups and former congregants raised an uproar.

Meanwhile, the proposed alternative plan would be to connect an immigration museum by trail to the North Shore trail system. I'd like to see the plan before reaching a final judgment, but that sounds plausible to me.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Anyway, according to the article, PennDOT has already made its peace with the church:

Think about it! It's outrageous! PennDot changed development plans and the Diocese turns around and sells the church to a billboard company!

The congregation protested against PennDot. Will they now protest against the Catholic Church?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Think about it! It's outrageous! PennDot changed development plans and the Diocese turns around and sells the church to a billboard company!

The congregation protested against PennDot. Will they now protest against the Catholic Church?

As I understand it, it was really preservationists and residents who protested demolition, and the Diocese was actually fine with PennDOT's demolition plan since they wanted to stop paying upkeep on a closed church. When that fell through, they apparently found someone to buy it, and don't particularly care if the buyer demolishes it. So their actions are consistent, just not aligned with the people who would like to see the church saved from demolition.