Church vs. Arena

Have you driven by Epiphany Church in the Uptown neighborhood recently? It is unnerving to drive away from Duquesne University, toward either Bigelow Boulevard or the ramp onto the Veterans Bridge (I-579 north), look to your right to the Hill District--and see nothing.  

The Civic Arena is gone.

The historic space-ship shaped structure, built during "urban renewal" -- read, 1950s neighborhood destruction in the name of Mayor David L. Lawrence's Renaissance -- has been demolished.  All of the steel and concrete which anchored the building have been removed.  Large earth-moving cranes are pushing around dirt to level it out, probably to make temporary parking lots.  The Pittsburgh Penguins moved into brand new Consol Energy Center two years ago, making the Civic (nee Mellon) Arena economically unnecessary.  A couple of brave souls tried to stop its demolition, in the name of historic preservation.  But economics won out.  The Penguins didn't want a useless arena on their hands.  They (and the city of Pittsburgh) would rather have the land turned into businesses.  And maybe a few new homes, too.

I'm all in favor of building new homes in the city.  And new homes and smaller businesses will expand the Hill District  toward Downtown, allowing the two neighborhoods to (almost) meet.  But it was striking how quickly the city pushed aside any arguments to preserve the Civic Arena.  Or even just to delay its demolition for a year or three in the possibility some other use or money might make it a viable building for our community.

Contrast that speed with the delay, delay and delay over the proposed demolition of the St. Nicholas Church on Route 28, in the East Allegheny neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh.  The parish formally left the building five years ago.  All religious items were long ago removed.  The vandals have taken what exterior copper off the building they could.  A plucky and vocal group of preservationists have proposed making the church into a museum to the Croatian immigrant experience in the United States--but have never proven to the Catholic parish and the Diocese of Pittsburgh that they have resources beyond a dream, or anything resembling a sound business plan.  

Yet the city still holds the church, and the parish, hostage, because of the Historic Preservation label imposed on it in 2001.

At least, until Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Colville reversed a Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission decision on July 23.  Colvill's ruling describes the church's historic designation as, in effect, "a taking."  His ruling also questioned the legal standing of the people who testified and offered opinions about the building's alleged viability.  A 2009 feasibility study reported estimated renovation costs to the church building of $7 million.  The court decision noted that there is no evidence that anyone "would attempt to raise $7 million" for that purpose.  

I could bet that  when he heard about Colville's ruling, parish administrator Father Dan Whalen probably said to himself, at last sanity is breaking out.  (The contemporary demands of full disclosure make me admit that Dan is a brother priest, friend, and a former colleague when we both served St. John Vianney Parish, Hilltop.  But he is not responsible for anything I post in my blog.)  But wait, the city one day later announced that it would appeal Judge Colville's ruling.  And so more delay, and more hardship on the St. Nicholas Parish of Millvale, which does have a church which has real historic artifacts -- the paintings of Maxo Vanka.  (Go to www.stnicholascroatian.com .  Or better, drive up the hill and see the paintings in person.)

Why is it government can move so quickly when possible tax dollars, and the influence of the sports team Penguins, speak, and when the church speaks, all it gets is ... well, lots of words and lots of delay?