Sunday, December 6, 2020

Updating: Demolition of 48 E. 7th St. is imminent

Sources at the scene on the southeast corner of Second Avenue and Seventh Street say that the demolition of what's left of the fire-damamged 48 E. Seventh St. is imminent ... workers were waiting for a meeting to take place betweem various DOB and FDNY officials this morning ...
There was no word about the fate of the Middle Collegiate Church, the historic structure that was erected here in 1892. 

FDNY officials have not revealed the source of the fire that started at No. 48 early yesterday morning and spread to the church next door. Four firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

Updated 11:45 a.m. 

The demolition is underway...
Updated 12:45 p.m. 

Steven took these photos...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is too sad and too much. We all have endured a lot of immeasurable pain, frustration and loss during 2020. Now this? My heart breaks for our community.

Anonymous said...

A cursed intersection

Anonymous said...

FFS

J said...

The whole block all the way up to 7th and Ave A reek of smoke today. Can even still smell it in my apt now :-(

Giovanni said...

The fire has been popping up all day, probably due to the high winds. Most of the businesses on the block were shut down all day. I only hope they can save the facade of Middle Collegiate Church. They had inspectors up in the biggest cherry picker I’ve ever seen looking at the structure to see if it is stable. What an awful tragedy coming right before Christmas, in this very terrible year. And now it’s time to rebuild.

Anonymous said...

Questions still . . .

What are the odds of the facade and bell tower staying up? Can the facade and tower be taken apart and saved? (It's stone, right? Maybe on a steel frame?) Is the bell okay?

What was the cause of the fire? (If the power and gas was out in the E. 7th building, it probably wasn't gas or electric. Right?)

What kind of damage is there in the back building/basement/etc.? Is the gallery of paintings of Collegiate abolitionists ash? The church archive?

Is the Women's Prison Association building, the Hooper House, okay?

Yes, the heart of Middle Collegiate is its congregation--and I fully expect MC to rebuild--but losing so much at once is devastating. The building has been slowly renovated over the last 25 years or so and it was generally in very good shape (and certainly used to the fullest!). Hopefully, at least some of the back building survived and some space will be available while the reconstruction gets started.


Anonymous said...

They just redid the sidewalk in front a couple of weeks ago...

Anonymous said...

I've been reading that this church housed the New York Liberty Bell, but i can't seem to find any information about the bell itself - does anyone know the history? Apparently it's older than the one in Philadelphia and now no one knows its fate. So sad.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps a patron will step forward (as was the case in St. Brigid) and rebuild the church.