Description

Views of the Veranda

In August of 2022, as a result of decades of erosion plus vibrations from road construction on Southport Ave., a few linestone blocks of the veranda wall washed out onto the sidewalk. The church's Veranda is as historic as it is iconic, adding to the architechtural beauty of St. Alphonsus. The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1889, and the veranda, adorned with her limestone pillars and railing, stands proudly in the earliest photos of the church, even though it was not present in the original blueprints.

In the spring of 2022, our parish, with the assistance of the Archdiocese, consulted with architects and engineers about the gradual erosion around the staircases and the mortar in the veranda's facade. They all advised is we had a range of at least 3-5 years before needing to address the erosion. Unfortunately, the vibrations caused by the roadwork's heavy construction equpment accelerated this timeline.

The Veranda actually has 2 walls: the external limestone facade plus an internal brick wall w/ steel supports. The deck of the veranda is structurally sound and very stable, with a bevy of concrete support columns beneath it. The decorative limestone wall, especially surrounding the staircases, is where the erosion has been happening, and the area that has to be restored. 

The architect our parish hired has since drawn up blueprints for the veranda's restorationm from which options will be discussed and estimates of costs will be issued. Exact bids on the job will take a few months to acquire, but the total cost will be substantial: in excess of half a million dollars. Repair of this magnitude requires a special appeal and campaign.  

Making Organ Pipes Sing

Toward the end of the 1980s, the parishioners of St. Alphonsus acquired a Casavant Freres organ from a church that was closing in Bay City, MI. The Casavant company, out of Quebec, is known for the sonic and visual beauty of its instruments. This was no small victory for the parish, and was due to the hard work of music director Jim Ramseth. Our original organ was destroyed in the church fire of 1950.

Unfortunately, the parish at the time did not have sufficient funds to complete a worthy facade for the instrument. In Bay City, the organ had been hidden behind a grated screen, and so didn't need to be presentable to the public. At St. Alphonsus, lacking such a front, the "guts" of the organ were all exposed, and not in an intentional o aesthetically pleasing way. When our current music director Brian Blye arrived in 2002, he realized the organ sounded fantastic, but was neither visually appealing nor mechanically reliable. 

As part of the 2008 restoration of the church, we contracted with the Berghaus company of Bellwood, IL to update the console, and to build a proper case for the organ. It matched and complemented the space, and also featured a new row of "facade" pipes, which as the painted pipes that today face outward. Languids (or "tongues") were installed in that front-facing rank of pipes. But because of budgetary constraints at that time, those pipes were not mechanically connected, leaving that job for another day. So today, when you look up at the organ, the visible rank of pipes that you see are all mute! 

On the organ, the deep and low pedal stop (Principal 16') has never before sung out; its unique voice has never been heard.

As the parish reviews upcoming capital expense projects and fundraising options, we hope to empower these visually stunning pipes to actually sing into the church, and for the first time ever, to add to their power, depth, and richness to the full ensemble!