Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Photos of Maspeth church fire


"I went down to the site of Maspeth church fire this morning. Word was that it will be demolished down to the foundation by tomorrow. The congregation dates back to 1854 and this building was constructed in 1907. The congregation is devastated. One of the first firetrucks on the scene was Engine 271 from Bushwick, which is slated for closure soon. The congregation was hoping to salvage some the windows that were not damaged but the DOB inspector on scene was doubtful that would be possible. The adjacent homes have been evacuated and will stay empty until the building comes down." - Christina Wilkinson

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was born the year that congregation celebrated its 100 anniversary. My parents both belonged to that church in the 1930's, 1940's and still considerate their church today. We have a picture of my mom standing in front of the church, pregnant with me. I was baptized there, went to Sunday school there, confirmed, belonged to the MYF group and married there in 1977 before I moved to another neighborhood. My parents knew Pastor Francis, and I remember Pastor Weston, Pastor Green, Pastor L'Heureux, and Pastor Bassinger-Ishii.

Many mom's of all faiths I know from surrounding areas in Queens all took their children to the playgroup which was run for years by Mrs. J. Moran, who dedicated her life to this church. This church has such a long history in Maspeth --- let's hope its rebuilt.

One of today's photo showed the rose window which was over the choir loft until the church was remodeled in the 1970's still intact. Hopefully it can be salvaged. All of Maspeth needs to join together ---THE LAST THING WE NEED IS ANOTHER HOUSING COMPLEX DESTROYING OUR HISTORY!!!