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W3NA Letter re St. Cantius Church Ward 3 Neighborhood Association www.wardthree.com Deb Henson, President Rebecca Shannon, Vice President Greg Kerstetter, Secretary Jennifer Normanly, Treasurer Helen Curtin, Ward 3A Rep Sarah Williams, Ward 3A Rep Bob Reckman, Ward 3B Rep Fred Zimnoch, Ward 3B Rep Leslie Laurie, Business Rep Jim Nash, Ward 3 City Councilor (ex officio) Emily Serafy-Cox, Ward 3 School Committee (ex officio) Roni Gold, At-Large School Committee (ex officio) TO: CENTRAL BUSINESS ARCHITECTURE COMMITTEE SUBJECT: ST. JOHN CANTIUS CHURCH – PROPOSAL TO DEMOLISH Our Board of Directors voted at the last Board Meeting (3-9-21) to reach out to your committee to express our opinion of O’Connell’s recent proposal to demolish this historic, 120-year-old Church located in Ward 3. Our Board overwhelmingly encourages this committee to require O’Connell to conduct due diligence on its promise to our community in October 2019 to attempt to re-purpose this historic monument to the Polish community in Ward 3 and the Pioneer Valley. See History of St. John Cantius Church at end. Making the right decision costs money and time. The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association knows that. But a decision to allow this iconic building to be demolished would irrevocably change our Ward, a loss that would last forever, and one that will not be repaired with the construction of more townhouses. That is why the Board of Directors of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association is calling for the Northampton Central Business Architecture Committee to delay, if not ultimately reject, the request of the O’Connell Development Group to demolish the 120-year-old church building. The St. John Cantius Church sits at the beating heart of Ward 3, reminding some of us of our ancestors who built it, and the rest of us that while this city grows, it does not forget its past. The church structure, while built by Catholic immigrants, has a reach beyond faith. We are all attracted to its beauty, its history, its inherent message that this community – our Ward 3 – will remain standing. We implore the Northampton citizens sitting on the Central Business Architecture Committee, and the O’Connell 2 Development Group, to delay demolition, so others in the community can find a solution that our neighborhood can embrace – not grieve. We believe that the O’Connell Development Group should not be allowed to raze the church, because its plans do not satisfy the simple stipulations put forward at last month’s CBA Committee meeting by Carolyn Misch, the City’s Assistant Director of Planning and Sustainability. O’Connell made a poor showing at the recent CBA meeting on February 22, 2021 of such research into other options besides demolition; many individuals in attendance asked if O’Connell had investigated such options as historic tax credits, etc. and the answer was “We have not looked into that. The Holyoke developers did not adequately establish that it pursued all avenues for repurposing the church, rendering it unusable, nor did it prove with its anecdotal evidence that the structure was functionally obsolete and too costly to repair. Again, we realize making the right decision costs money, but O’Connell Development Group will, in effect, make our community pay for ages if it razes a building that many of us used for worship, and all of us continue to cherish. Several of the W3NA Board of Directors were present at the February 22nd meeting and believe that the case for demolition made by the O’Connell Group fell far short of convincing us that we should accept losing an iconic building. The presentation was inadequate in both its lack of data and the underwhelming alternative of five townhouses to replace an historic church. We are calling on the citizens of the CBA Committee to insist upon a thorough examination of alternatives to demolishing the St. John Cantius Church. Sincerely, Deb Deb Henson, on behalf of the Board of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association HISTORY OF ST. JOHN CANTIUS CHURCH St. John Cantius Church was built in 1912 but its history extends back into the late 19th century. Immigrants from Poland and other Slavic countries began arriving here around 1890. Five years later in 1895, 24 men gathered together to form a Society called Zagoda (Peace), later renamed the Society of St. George, to bring a Polish priest to the area to celebrate Mass and eventually to build a church. Their efforts partially succeeded when a year later a visiting Polish priest held a Mass in St. Mary’s Church. Later visiting priests held services at Lyman Hall and the Elks Club. Eventually the Bower’s Mansion (aka Blodgett House) at 73 Prospect Street was purchased and a permanent church was established in 1904. This Society played a key role in our Valley by establishing subchapters in Holyoke, Springfield, Chicopee, Turners Falls and other towns with t he same purpose to bringing a Polish priest to the area to celebrate Mass. Eventually these subchapters created many local Polish churches. As the congregation grew larger, a new church was required. In 1912 by the Architect for the 3 Springfield Diocese John W. Donohue (1869–1941), who was responsible for building two dozen churches in Western Massachusetts, completed the construction of their church in a unique Romanesque Revival style. The parish continued to grow and provide to our community with busi nesspersons, stalwart citizens, and numerous political leaders such as Mayor Wallace Puchalski (4 terms) and more recently State Legislator (2002-18) Peter V. Kocot. (Peter was always proud to point out that his grandfather Bolesław was the first organist at the church.) Most important to the parish was the Parish Community Center that could seat over 300 people. From 1969 until the closing of the church it was the site for the popular weekly Bingo. With a kitchen facility it was also the site for many happy diners with Polish specialties created by the local Women’s organization and almost always featured the joyful polka music. This was also the site for dozens of FREE meals that refreshed the marchers (and others ) at the annual Pulaski Day Parade in October. In the early 1990s the church joined other local churches in providing shelter and meals for the homeless. The loss of this vibrant community with the closing of the church in 2010 was a tragedy. The loss of this architecturally significant building, supported over a century by thousands of loving parishioners, would be a significant loss not only to Ward 3 and the City, but to the entire Valley.