Abandoned Buildings Series Part 1
Saints Peter and Paul Church
East Liberty, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Where to begin with this one. For starters every time I park at the Trader Joes I can see the decaying towers of the Roman Catholic church casting a shadow over the neighborhood of East Liberty. What is the story behind the abandoned yet gorgeous church in Pittsburgh? I’m going to try my best to briefly cover why this lovely church and piece of history is currently closed off to the public.
*Hopes for a ghost*
Saints Peter and Paul Church was built between 1890-91. The designers, Adolphus Druiding and John T. Comès, were well known for their works in building Roman Catholic churches, schools, rectories (had to google that one), and convents. Their portfolios are incredible and for those who love photography or just admiring churches, check out some of their buildings.
The first church was completed in 1859 however by the 1880s it was in poor condition. This lead to it being demolished and rebuilt into the church standing today….sort of standing.
Then in 1909, it was stuck by lightening…
Which actually isn’t all that rare. The Pittsburgh Gazette Times Reported: “The electric bolt struck the church at 6:15 o’clock [p.m.] between the two huge towers and shattered the immense organ in its descent. A cloud of smoke arose and in a few seconds flames broke from the huge front memorial window and shot out into the street fifty feet. The hail and rainstorm was at its height.”
For those readers who believe in omens and signs, break this one down please.
A fire started causing massive damage to the roof as well as the interior. I’m going to go back to those lovely towers I see almost every day, they survived the fire. The alter and the walls remained as well. But the rest of the church was destroyed. After renovations, the doors opened again on October 30th, 1910. Of course the opening was on Mischief Night, the day before Halloween, nothing the strange about that. The building was rededicated by Bishop Regis Canevin.
More renovations in 1916 and an another upgrade in about the 1960s.
The church has been through a lot and has risen from the ashes disaster after disaster.
After World War II, the population of Pittsburgh began to decline. With the population decline came the closing of a lot of steel mills in the 1970s and there was also a decline in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. I sadly didn’t know what this meant when I first read it. I’m guessing less people meant Roman Catholic churches began to close.
Right.
In 1983, the church was designated as a Pittsburgh Landmark by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. With the recent transformation of the East Liberty neighborhood, what of the boarded up church?
Saints Peter and Paul was merged with five other East End parishes in 1992 but unfortunately along with a few other churches, Saints Paul and Peter closed it’s doors in 1992.
The property was sold in 1997 to Everlasting Covenant Church in hopes to revive the church and start a charter school. Sadly the charter school was held in another site.
Saints Paul and Peter did gain fame when it became the backdrop during the climatic scene from the 1999 Kevin Smith film Dogma.
In the 1980s, the East Liberty neighborhood was going through a revitalization. East Liberty was unfortunately seen as a “rundown” neighborhood. More recently, the efforts to rebuild the neighborhood are strong.
Okay, present day! Since the filming of the Dogma and the strong efforts to rebuild East Liberty, the church has been sadly abandoned, vandalized, and home to squatters. I could go on a rant about people vandalizing beautiful buildings such as this church but wrong platform and not enough time.
A nonprofit community development organization, The East Liberty Development Corporation (ELDI ), acquired the church in 2014. Around the church, new apartments, restaurants, and big businesses such as Google, Phillips, and Duolingo just to name a few have found a home in the East Liberty neighborhood. However, the church remains closed and boarded up with a fence around it.
According to the Pittsburgh Business Times as of March 3, 2022, the ELDI announced the church will be renovated and turned into an events venue.
I was unable to go in and explore the church, there was fence around it….no trespassing…yup but there are many websites and brave souls who were able to venture inside of the church a few years ago. The pictures are stunning and I’ve posted a few below. Also, there is of course more to this story and I’ve linked my sources if you are interested!
Till next time!
I don’t have a catchy phrase yet.
Rachel
*All photos of mine were taken from outside of the church as it is closed off to the public.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Church_(Pittsburgh)#cite_note-10
