After listening to heartfelt testimony about the value of St. Patrick’s Church, the Common Council unanimously approved local landmark status for the 160-year-old Gothic Revival house of worship.
The landmark application was submitted to the council by Selena Truax Morello, chair of the City of Lockport Historic Preservation Commission.
While the church has not been sold or slated for demolition, members of the public spoke of the loss that would result if it were not preserved intact.
“We don’t really want to risk losing more of our buildings and heritage,” said resident Kathy O’Keefe.
Speaking of the former Catholic church on Walnut Street, O’Keefe said, “I was at The Chapel at the time that we took over St. Mary’s, and thankfully that has been somewhat saved and become part of the community again. I will say one of the hardest things for me was to watch when they decided to dismantle the altar. They took apart the statue of Jesus laying there, and they numbered each piece of marble and they shipped it to Nicaragua.”
“St. Patrick’s, to me, is so phenomenal,” O’Keefe continued. “You can walk in there and you can feel our past as an Irish American girl. And the problem with it going on the auction block or up for sale is you’re not guaranteed that any of that will be saved.”
In speaking on behalf of the church’s lengthy history, Shelley Richards, a commission member, clarified that the church is consecrated and is permanently referred to as St. Patrick’s, while the congregation is known as All Saint’s Parish.
John Tolli of Royal Parkway South read a letter from Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) in “unequivocal” support of landmark status, recognizing St. Patrick’s “role as a defining visual feature” in the city. The letter was written by former Lockport resident, and PBN Preservation Planner Emily Jarnot.
The church “represents not only an effort to honor one of Lockport’s most significant historic structures but also a critical step in ensuring its survival for future generations,” PBN said. It is “essential to the city’s architectural fabric. Local landmark designation is more than symbolic. It is a practical tool that opens the door to essential funding opportunities including sacred site grants, which are often restricted to properties with formal historic designation. These resources are urgently needed, particularly as the bell tower requires significant repair.”
PBN said, “Without landmark status the parish and community are denied access to the very funding streams that could stabilize and preserve this irreplaceable building. We must also acknowledge the broader context. The Catholic Diocese’s ongoing sale of church properties, often encumbered by restrictive covenants, has created troubling incentives for demolition rather than preservation. Too many of our historic churches have been lost to the wrecking ball, not because they lack value but because they lacked protection.”
Tolli added his personal comment to the testimony.
“When I come into the city, like many others, I can’t help but be impressed with the skyline above the locks,” he said. “(St. Patrick’s) is a beacon of love. It’s a beacon of peace. It’s a beacon of friendship and of community.”
“Lockport has been working towards having a historic economic development in the downtown area,” said Regina Rosati. “We should really be looking toward having this become a very, very much historic 1800s city and it will be of great economic value if we can pull everything that’s historic together and kind of build a corridor in this area. Everything downtown can be recreated to look like 1800s. We’ve already found out what happens when you take away buildings that can’t be recreated … You can’t make that church ever again. I really think (losing) it would be a shame.”