Damaged steeple finally repaired

WASHINGTON – The year was 1913 and Woodrow Wilson was in the White House when a tornado struck the nation’s capital, damaging the steeple of a downtown church.

It took some time – 92 years, to be exact – but this weekend, repairs are being made at Calvary Baptist Church. The church made a deal with local developers, selling its parking lot and other land for $10 million to go toward construction as well as preservation of the 1867 church sanctuary.

“This renovation and construction is a symbol for the rejuvenation of our neighborhood and how important it is for a downtown congregation to be part of that rebirth,” said the Rev. Amy K. Butler, the church’s senior pastor.

The congregation traditionally comes from the suburbs, but a diverse group of young, urban professionals increasingly fills the pews on Sundays, said the pastor. Butler, 34, calls it a good fit for her as one of the few women leading Baptist churches, and she sees the new steeple as a monument to the changes inside the church.

A storm deformed the original cast-iron spire, leaving only the clock tower intact. It, too, was taken down after a lightning strike damaged the building in 1949.

Architects replicated the original steeple from an 1865 photo by Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. The aluminum and fiberglass structure topped by a cross will be a new point on the city skyline, stretching to a height of 160 feet – well above surrounding buildings.

The spire is being installed Saturday – Abraham Lincoln’s birthday – at the church originally formed by abolitionists.