Met History wrote:

> The congregation has (so far) wisely desisted from erasing all traces
> of a nearly disastrous 1990? fire, leaving a full limestone arch over
> the organ fire openly spalled and broken (although I think they
> cleaned the smoke off).

Hmmm... sitting in the gutter I was off 5th Ave., not the church.
Subjective displacement.

They painted the stone above the organ -- it does not look bad. I think
cost is the factor of desisting from replacement. They cleaned out the
entire church of smoke a while ago.
The church architect is now BBB. The church has the best CM I've ever
met in my life -- seriously I'm trying to talk him into letting me ghost
write his memoirs.

One day I visited was the day after the craftsman from England, in his
70's I was told, who had built the stained glass windows came to visit.
I wish that I had known ahead of time.
It was the only visit that he made to see his windows installed.

At one time a few years ago I handled the project for repointing the
outside of the church... part n' parcel of the 20 year restoration that
was done in a season?
And now whenever they need holes, or help with weird water leaks -- a
very strange leak over the baptismal font, or most anything with the
masonry I get called. Especially since Nick Micros ran off to
Switzerland. It is a building I respect and enjoy playing with. It is
very well built and opening a hole in the gutter is for me not just
opening a hole in a gutter.

][<

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