Church of the Transfiguration (Buffalo) History
The Polish immigrant population in Buffalo was steadily increasing in 1890, and the existing church of St. Adalbert soon realized that another place of worship was needed in the East Side neighborhood. The bishop granted permission to form a new Polish parish in 1893, under the instruction of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. A wooden church and a schoolhouse was built on the corner of Mills and Sycamore Streets, however both of these structures were replaced within a few years. The new church building that still stands today was constructed in Gothic-revival style at a cost of $76,000 and completed in 1897, and featured an 180-foot tall bell tower. The school building was rebuilt in 1914. A dwindling number of parishioners led to the decision to close the school building in 1985; the church would eventually be shuttered in 1991 along with three other East Side churches after a vitality study performed by the diocese. The local parish ceased to exist in 1993, and all sacramental registers were transferred to the Diocesan Archives. A permit to demolish the church was obtained in 1994 by the diocese, but was instead sold to Paul Francis Associates for $7,000 with a promise to restore the building. A $100,000 community block grant was obtained, but only a quarter of the money was allocated to the restoration of the church as money was diverted to other projects. The subsequent owner of the building let the structure deteriorate until 2007, when some repairs were made to the roof and protecting the stained glass. |
Send your photos of Transfiguration school memories to
[email protected]
Please include dates, names and story line if possible
[email protected]
Please include dates, names and story line if possible
Dorothy Pieniadz is from the class of 1937
Dorothy Pieniadz, Retired Dean of Students at RIC, Honored With Jefferson Award
http://www.ric.edu/news/details.php?News_ID=2195
Dorothy Pieniadz, Retired Dean of Students at RIC, Honored With Jefferson Award
http://www.ric.edu/news/details.php?News_ID=2195
Check out the facebook page
transfiguration grammer school
at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/61284982367/
Check out the facebook page
transfiguration alum 1978 + friends
at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/216246078488238/
Check out these websites for some tear jerking photos.
http://opacity.us/.../opacity.us/gallery229_golden_light.htm
http://www.institutionalgreen.org/gallery/Church-of-the-Transfiguration/11-16-06/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STeXKZbaboE
http://pgsnys.org/polish-parishes-wny-detail.php?recordID=34
http://fixbuffalo.blogspot.com/2007/01/transfiguration-archive.html
THE CLASS OF 1959 From left to right:
ROW 1: Betty Ann Bartkowski, Joyce Mikolajczak, Msgr. Biniszkiewicz, Rob Marcinkiewicz, Ray Myszka. ROW 2: Chris Baszczynski, Ann Marie Rucki, Judy Golda, Bob Dubiel, Jim Makowski, Henry Ziemba. ROW 3: Pat Wojciechowski, Bernadette Watorek, Barbara Borowiec, Davie Gorecki, Jim Karaszewski, Frank Baron. ROW 4: Pat Macadlo, Geraldine Kazmierczak, Sylvia Gorski, Annie Okoniewski, Joe Nurzynski, Charlie Maciag, Roger Heymanowski, Ed Durka. ROW 5: MarcyAnn Korda, Marlene Nycel, Cynthia Gniewiecki, Carol Rusin, Dan Niesyto, Jim Mazur, Dan Maryniewski, Joe Plewniak
Broadway Market Good Friday & Holy Saturday reunion information table April 3rd & 4th, 2015
Dyngus Day Parade April 6th, 2015
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Preservation Ready: Sacred spaces under a death watch BY ELIZABETH LICATA
Transfiguration Church, 929 Sycamore
Unencumbered by battling congregations, Transfiguration was the result of a general agreement that the growing Polish community on Buffalo’s East Side needed another place of worship. Founded in 1893, the new church was first sited in a small chapel on Stanislaus that very quickly became insufficient. The present Sycamore Street church was dedicated in 1887. Designed by Carl Schmill, it is an imposing Gothic Revival structure with a massive central tower, arched entrance, stained glass windows topped with medallions, and murals by Joseph Mazur in the ethereal vaulted interior.
Transfiguration was officially closed in 1990, but services continued until 1993. The Diocese originally intended to demolish the structure after removing its most significant architectural details, but this decision was immediately protested by former parishioners and others. After an extended court case, it was instead sold by the diocese in 1994 to a not-for-profit group entitled Paul Francis Associates, Inc., and received a small amount of block grant funding to repair the structure, which they renamed Sycamore Street Sounds of Joy. The structure was also designated as a local landmark by the Common Council at this time.
Since this purchase, the story of Transfiguration Church has been largely told in Housing Court, as the current owners have attempted to keep up with a volley of violations. Tiles had been falling off the compromised roof for years, the murals are peeling off the walls, and windows are missing. Although some remedial action has been taken—the windows are boarded up, there is new paving, and the roof has been patched—serious problems remain. According to Pauline Nowak of Paul Francis Associates, a major impediment to reuse is the state in which the Diocese left it. “[It was] stripped of its contents and undergoing real time demolition activity since 1993,”she says. In 2009, however, Diocese director of communications Kevin Keenan wrote in a Buffalo News op-ed:
“In 1994, due to the advancing deterioration of the church, the diocese and the parish obtained a building permit to demolish the church. The plan was to beautify the site as green space as a positive use for the community ...
“Based on the recommendation of the Buffalo Common Council ... Bishop Edward D. Head agreed to sell the church property to Pauline Nowak and her son, Francis Trezevant, of Paul Francis Associates, for the price of $7,000.
“We were assured that Paul Francis Associates was up to the task at hand. ... Sadly, we know the history of the church building. Due to the failure of the city to deliver the block grant funding and the neglect of its owners—not the diocese—the church has fallen into disrepair.”
It would be difficult to deny the last six words of his statement. They hold true for far too many local church buildings.
Transfiguration Church, 929 Sycamore
Unencumbered by battling congregations, Transfiguration was the result of a general agreement that the growing Polish community on Buffalo’s East Side needed another place of worship. Founded in 1893, the new church was first sited in a small chapel on Stanislaus that very quickly became insufficient. The present Sycamore Street church was dedicated in 1887. Designed by Carl Schmill, it is an imposing Gothic Revival structure with a massive central tower, arched entrance, stained glass windows topped with medallions, and murals by Joseph Mazur in the ethereal vaulted interior.
Transfiguration was officially closed in 1990, but services continued until 1993. The Diocese originally intended to demolish the structure after removing its most significant architectural details, but this decision was immediately protested by former parishioners and others. After an extended court case, it was instead sold by the diocese in 1994 to a not-for-profit group entitled Paul Francis Associates, Inc., and received a small amount of block grant funding to repair the structure, which they renamed Sycamore Street Sounds of Joy. The structure was also designated as a local landmark by the Common Council at this time.
Since this purchase, the story of Transfiguration Church has been largely told in Housing Court, as the current owners have attempted to keep up with a volley of violations. Tiles had been falling off the compromised roof for years, the murals are peeling off the walls, and windows are missing. Although some remedial action has been taken—the windows are boarded up, there is new paving, and the roof has been patched—serious problems remain. According to Pauline Nowak of Paul Francis Associates, a major impediment to reuse is the state in which the Diocese left it. “[It was] stripped of its contents and undergoing real time demolition activity since 1993,”she says. In 2009, however, Diocese director of communications Kevin Keenan wrote in a Buffalo News op-ed:
“In 1994, due to the advancing deterioration of the church, the diocese and the parish obtained a building permit to demolish the church. The plan was to beautify the site as green space as a positive use for the community ...
“Based on the recommendation of the Buffalo Common Council ... Bishop Edward D. Head agreed to sell the church property to Pauline Nowak and her son, Francis Trezevant, of Paul Francis Associates, for the price of $7,000.
“We were assured that Paul Francis Associates was up to the task at hand. ... Sadly, we know the history of the church building. Due to the failure of the city to deliver the block grant funding and the neglect of its owners—not the diocese—the church has fallen into disrepair.”
It would be difficult to deny the last six words of his statement. They hold true for far too many local church buildings.