Demolished years ago, St. Laurentius could return as a small memorial
The miniature replica of the facade of the church received scathing feedback from the Historical Commission’s Architectural Committee.
A miniature model of St. Laurentius Roman Catholic Church has been proposed for the corner of Berks and Memphis Streets in Fishtown in honor of the demolished church.
The three-foot memorial statue is planned to perch atop a cornerstone salvaged during St. Laurentius’ demolition. It will sit outside the old parish house, which is now a school.
The 140-year-old church was demolished in 2022 after significant neighborhood conflict and lengthy legal battles. Eight three-story luxury townhomes will fill the vacant lot where it once stood.
» READ MORE: St. Laurentius site is getting townhouses. Here’s how it went from beloved church to empty lot.
The Historical Commission requires commemoration of the razed building as part of the new development. The bronze-cast model of the beloved church’s facade is designed by CANNOdesign.
The proposed memorial is being paid for by the developers of the townhomes, Ben Katz and Henry Siebert.
The design must be approved by the city’s Historical Commission. But it received pushback at Tuesday’s meeting of the commission’s architectural committee, where members questioned why only the facade of St. Laurentius would be represented and not a replica of the whole building.
“I don’t have anything really positive to say,” said Allison Lukachik, a structural engineer who sits on the committee. “It just feels like it’s done because it’s being required to be done, but not because there’s any real feeling.”
The architects of CANNOdesign disputed that assessment, but the committee voted against recommending their design to the larger Historical Commission which holds the power to approve it.
The disapproval of the committee does not prevent the design from being considered by the full Historical Commission, which could happen as early as next month.