Sometimes there are things in life that are terrible, and no matter what you do, you can’t change them, and you just have to take it.
I was driving north on the newly smooth Parnell, heading to St. Augustine’s to get some photography done for another project when the church came into view far in the distance.
“Huh, it sure looks strange, like there’s a whole section of roof missing in the middle,” I thought, “I can see too much blue sky to the right of the bell tower…”
Not only had the whole roof over the nave collapsed, but masonry had tumbled down into a heap in front. The street had been cleared, but it was obvious the bricks had fallen much further out into it.
The small southern turret has extensive damage, as well. I could only gather that some of the high winds that had swept through the region lately had been the culprit, with the recent fire perhaps being a catalyst.
Regardless, it is bad, very bad. In fact, before I had gotten close enough to see otherwise the damage is so bad I thought the City was in the process of actively demolishing the church. That’s how bad it looks.
Not only did the roof collapse, but it brought down the equivalent of what would be the clerestory; I can’t imagine that the roof structure of the transepts will survive much longer, considering that the apse on the east side has already been weakened by the earlier fire. I’ve actually added the “Ruins” tag onto this post for the first time for this church.
It’s maybe a little hard to see in these photos, but it’s really horrible to see in person. Sadly, I think it’s at the point where it’s time to say goodbye.
