The wrecking ball is doing what hurricanes could not

I went out to St. Stephen's early yesterday morning because I heard there was a "watch crew," keeping an eye out for the demolition crew, who were not allowed to work on Sundays.

At this point, what does it matter if they knock down history on Sunday or Monday? But anyway, I arrived to find activist Melissa Meyer there. Then Miami Historian Arva Moore Parks and local activist Dolly MacIntyre arrived.

We stood outside the old church talking. Dolly brought out an old photo from 1912 and Arva was quick to point out that the same cross and bell are standing on top of the structure -- for 97 years! Chills went up and down our spines, you can see this old 1912 photo and the photo I took yesterday.


This cross, and church, have survived almost 100 years, through all sorts of weather and conditions and now a handful of people want to destroy it forever.

A survey of St. Stephens parishioners shows that they were told the old church would be part of the new plans. That is why they approved it. But that seems to be a lie. They were duped as were the folks who approved the Class II permits. It's all about putting retail space on Main Highway.

There is so much land in that area and people are really flabbergasted as to why the small church, a real part of history, is not allowed to stay. It could easily be renovated inside and made to be part of the larger new structure. There is plenty of room. It should be the centerpiece of the project. The whole original structure is there.

St. Stephen's School was good at hiding the fact that the little church was being destroyed as part of their project -- they covered that fact up and pushed the fact that they were building one of the only totally green schools in the area. It was all about going green. How can you destroy the old church that has functioned (mind you, it has not been empty, it has been functioning) for almost 100 years and say you are going green? According to the Miami Herald, "green building practices strongly discourage demolition of existing strutures."

The whole front gate area and the wall and the Heart of the Grove store are all original from the early 1900s. The original pine beams and columns of the porteco can still be seen in the store, without a mark on them, the woodwork under the entrance gate looks brand new, but it is old. It is all perfect. All from the day it was built. For almost 100 years, the place remained a functional, beautiful and viable place, in spite of its inept caretakers.

Basically, they didn't take care of it, but it took care of itself.

Related stories here and here.

Part of the on-going St. Stephen's saga