Holy Cross is gone

Wrecking ball fells Westside landmark, creating fulfillment for some, loss for others

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Between 1930 and 2009, thousands walkedthrough the arched limestone doorway at 1514 W. Saginaw St. Even forthose who just passed by in their cars at 45 mph, the two stories oftan and brown brick detail were a landmark. They provided what theMichigan State Housing Development Authority and the Kresge Foundationcall “a sense of place.”

And now Holy Cross School is gone.

The school was part of a 4.7-acrecomplex that covered a whole block west of Jenison, between Saginaw andOakland Avenue, on Lansing’s west side.

The Catholic Diocese of Lansing closedHoly Cross Parish two years ago and put it up for sale. The church, therectory, two school class buildings and a small gymnasium were assessedat about $1 million.  

Paul Garripy, director of propertymanagement for the diocese, said the school was demolished because “thearchitecture made it impossible to be handicap accessible.”

The demolition frustrated the Berneroadministration. Bob Johnson, Lansing’s director of planning andneighborhood development, said the city did not sufficiently scrutinizethe diocese’s request for permission to demolish it.

“Holy Cross should not have been torndown without first having an in-depth discussion with the community (toinclude the city).  Lansing lost a special, and iconic, building,”Johnson said.

When opened in 1930, the building servedas school upstairs and church in the basement until a church was builtbehind it at 1611 W. Oakland Ave.

The sense of loss for some, however, isa sense of fulfillment for others. Joy is bubbling in the VietnameseCatholic community. This spring, Holy Cross Church, built in 1949,became St. Andrew Dung Lac. They’re reusing the rest of the complex. 

On a recent Sunday, Mass had ended atSt. Andrew. The youth group practiced theater. Women cooked and soldVietnamese food from the kitchen in the basement. Some 180 familieswith shallow roots here are finding fertile soil. 

“When our bishop offered us this site,”said Ken Nguyen, who chairs St. Andrew’s Parish Council, “we thoughtthis place is the best place for us for the future.”

St. Andrew Dung Lac was operating asmaller church on South Washington Avenue. They gave that back to thediocese along with $86,000.

Nguyen walks from the church to thesingle-story 1950s school building. He’s excited about polishing it up,although there is no notable damage to it.

“We have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Nine classrooms. We use it for education,” he said.

Nguyen didn’t show any attachment to the old school. 

“The Diocese of Lansing took care of it.They paid for a company to destroy the old school for us. Because theold school ... we cannot take care of it.”

A backhoe smashed it apart. A cross hadstood on the roof above the second story. Layers of recessed arches oflimestone formed the entry way and several windows above it.

“We are very happy,” Nguyen continued,while looking at the rubble that had dropped on the school’s80-by-50-foot imprint. “We have more space to do maybe landscaping.”

They have more space for parking, too. Nguyen says they might need more than the 200 spaces they’ve got now.

The diocese said that the number offamilies had shrunk so much that it could not justify the costs ofkeeping the church open. The diocese urged Holy Crossers to attend St.Mary Cathedral downtown near the Capitol.

On Sunday at St. Mary, worshippers sang the hymn called “Lift High The Cross.”

That’s what Cynthia Pahlkotter thoughtshe was doing. But she’s begun to question church authorities. There’sthe feeling she gets when driving on Saginaw Street past the demolitionsite: “Sad. It’s a sad situation. I don’t know why they tore it down.Do you?”



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