TOLEDO, Ohio — Bricks falling from a historic south Toledo church building on Saturday forced the closure of a section of Junction Avenue and a nearby alley.
The City of Toledo said a section of Junction Avenue will be closed for at least 30 days due to bricks falling from the old Saint Anthony Catholic Church, or until the building is secure.
A decorative piece above one of the clocks fell, causing bricks to come down with it. RAM Construction Services is being used to repair the masonry work and put up netting in case anything else is to fall.
Junction Avenue was closed between Nebraska Avenue and Blum Street starting on Saturday.
An alley running behind the church was also closed.
Pedestrians are asked to avoid the area for their own safety.
The church closed in 2005 due to declining membership.
The church building was slated to be torn down in 2018 until an agreement between the Catholic Diocese, the city, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur and community leaders saved the church from the wrecking ball.
The property was transferred to the Lucas County Land Bank shortly thereafter in the hopes that a developer would step in to repurpose the building to be beneficial to the surrounding neighborhood.
The Lucas County Land Bank has put in close to $500,000 toward the upkeep of Saint Anthony Church, according to Lindsay Webb, the Lucas County Land Bank chair. The money has gone to steeple repairs, securing the exterior and seeing what the community wants to see the building used for.
In early 2023, a company called Adventus Climbing expressed interest in converting the structure into a climbing gym but an agreement between the company and the Land Bank has yet to be reached.
"We gained a grant from Marcy Kaptur's office through the federal government for the reuse and revitalization of Saint Anthony's," Webb said. "It's $4 million so the demise of St. Anthony's is grossly exaggerated."
The use is still up in the air, but Webb said the reuse of the building will be for something that will be appropriate for the community.
The church was built in the 1890s and served Toledo’s growing Polish immigrant community at the time.
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