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When workers from Schommer & Sons last week lifted the steeple off of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Mt. Angel for repairs, the streets were lined with residents who wanted to witness the spectacle.

St. Mary’s, which began services in 1912, has served several generations of families in Mt. Angel. 鈥淧eople have been stopping by and telling us about the history of the church and memories from when they were little,鈥� said Schommer & Sons project manager Andy McBride. 鈥淚t’s actually been really nice.鈥�

But entertainment was not among the reasons for the dramatic removal of the steeple, which is 177 feet from the bottom to the top of the cross. Water had begun leaking through the steeple’s 60-year-old copper plating, dripping into the tower and causing plaster to fall; also, an ornate painting on the ceiling was damaged.

Schommer & Sons performed a complete restoration of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Portland in 1996 and several other churches since, but work on the Mt. Angel church is unique. 鈥淲e never actually removed (a steeple) to do the repair like we did in this case,鈥� said Steve Schommer, principal in charge. 鈥淲e reviewed other options, but this seemed to be the most prudent option once we reviewed the other possibilities.鈥�

McBride laid out the major reasons for repairing the main steeple on the ground: safety for the project team, higher quality work and cost effectiveness.

鈥淏eing on a scaffold that high is very risky,鈥� McBride said. 鈥淎nd being closer to the ground allows better quality work because we’re in a controlled environment.鈥�

Schommer & Sons will replace failing joints, copper plating and dry rot in the main steeple. The repairs to the church, estimated to cost $385,000, also include rebuilding the base of the main steeple, and replacing crumbling bricks on top of the tower as well as sheeting and copper cladding the smaller steeple at the east end of the church via scaffold.

While the main steeple is refurbished in the parking lot, an enclosed work platform has been placed over the opening in the church’s roof. The structure’s purpose is threefold: 1, it serves as a weather protection enclosure; 2, it allows workers safe access to the top of the tower; and 3, it provides an aesthetic flourish to the renovation because of fleurs-de-lis painted on each exterior wall.

One of the major challenges for the project will be reinstallation of the steeple after repairs are finished, according to McBride. 鈥淲e diagrammed it all out, so hopefully all of the dimensions stay the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has to fit when it goes back up there.鈥�

McBride said they are hoping to wrap up work by the first week of August.