By FAITH SUNDQUIST Gazette staff writer November 25, 2002

Preservationists want to save church

Linda Schroll remembers St. Joseph’s Church as a place you would go when you wanted a “quiet moment with God.”

Closed and unconsecrated in 1995, the church was once the focal point of a thriving working class community near the Ten Broeck Mansion in downtown Albany. Completed in 1860, the church was designed by Patrick Keeley and the interior modeled after Keeley’s other Albany landmark construction, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. 

With the clouds parting on the first sunny day in almost a week, the Preservation League of New York State named the church and surrounding Ten Broeck area to its “Seven to Save” list, the non-profit group’s annual list of the most threatened historic places in New York State. 

“It’s a great day,” said Assemblyman John J. McEneny, D,L-Albany, “and that is why we have good weather.” 

McEneny explained that this was the church where his grandparents were married and his father baptized. 

After more than 100 years of service, the church’s congregation dissipated. The building was sold to an individual in 1981 and leased back to the Diocese of Albany. The remaining congregation merged with an existing parish in 1994, when the building was sold again. A sign still stands in the churchyard with the name of that parish and a schedule of masses. Beside it, with weeds growing up around the base, another placard reads “Danger falling debris.” 

After years of neglect and deterioration the building has fallen into disrepair. Last winter the structure became so unstable that the city was forced to take emergency measures to stabilize it.

The interior was in need of serious repair when the city stepped in with a $30,000 grant. The grant enabled the sagging choir loft to be fixed. 
“About a year ago on Christmas Eve, the mayor moved in,” Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings said. 

The City of Albany has spent about $300,000 to date to repair the ailing church, according to Jennings. 

Many of the windows are missing or broken. Signs litter the churchyard warning passersby not to get too close because of “falling debris.” A carpet of green grass blankets the marble steps where, at the top, a red door that hasn’t opened for mass in years stands like a guard protecting a treasure. Along the Second Street side of the building, leftover snow hides in the shade. 

Explaining that repairing and revitalizing this area of Albany is a commitment to the city’s future, Jennings announced an additional $300,000 state grant to aid in the repair efforts “while we find a creative reuse for this building.” 

Standing on the corner of Ten Broeck and Second streets, the church’s gothic structure is a testament to the vibrant community that once occupied the area. But, like the church, years of neglect have taken their toll on the surrounding community.

Municipal investment in the Historic Ten Broeck Triangle has become integral to the community’s survival. A $150,000 county grant was used to stabilize the facade of a Greek revival home that would have otherwise fallen by the wayside. 

After praising the Preservation League and Historic Albany Foundation, Albany County Executive Mike Breslin explained that the community needs to rally together and “start work as a next door neighbor” to help the historic buildings continue to lead a long and healthy life. 

“Our historic and architecturally significant buildings contribute greatly to the quality of life in Albany,” Breslin said. 

“[We] need to make sure things are done long before we get to this level,” Breslin said, referring to the church. 

“As a kid, you’re not awed by churches,” Breslin said, recalling his youth. “But I was of this one.” 

During Holy Week, he said, his family would visit churches and St. Joseph’s was his favorite. 

The former president of the Ten Broeck Neighborhood Preservation League, Manuel Alguero, explained that the church had fallen into such disrepair that beginning a few years ago the owner was “looking for ways to justify the wrecking ball.”

When Jennings heard this, Alguero received a call and a pledge that the building could only be destroyed if the wrecking company went through him first. 

In the future, Alguero would like to see former parishioners come forward to help the restoration effort. 

“You know what I want to do?” he asked. “I want to light it up, so that it is a beacon to the rest of the city [saying] come and join us.”