Our Lady of Czestochowa

Jersey City, NJ

 

Architect: Thomas A. Fenniman Arch.
Our Lady of Czestochowa was originally constructed in 1831 and rebuilt after a fire in 1869. Founded in 1911 as a center for the growing Polish community the church was in due course declared a historic site and integral component of the Paulus Hook Historic District.

 

Naturally, over time continuous leaking of the twin spire roof caused not only deterioration of the steel structural supports but waterlog damage to the interior brickwork. The twin spires were in danger of collapse. This historic church received a grant to restore the structural integrity as well as revive its original beauty. This required installation and painting of the new steel structural supports, replacement of interior brickwork, waterproofing and painting of the exterior roofs and exterior replacement of damaged terracotta stone. The new steel structure was a custom design by Herbert Rose, approved by the Architects and constructed in-house by Herbert Rose. In order to replace the steel structural supports normally the interior brickwork is removed as well as the exterior terracotta stone to expose the deteriorated steel supports. The Herbert Rose team was able to carefully remove the interior waterlog brickwork while preserving the exterior terracotta stone saving Our Lady of Czestochowa both time and money. This savings allowed the stone patching and repairs of damaged exterior terracotta stones with raised joints which are ordinarily challenging because they are round joints not flat. The exterior stone was stained to match both old with new to revive the original color. The twin spire sheet metal roof was waterproofed using a Decothane application and painted too its original color. The preservation of this beloved church won Herbert Rose an Excellence in Preservation Award in celebration of Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy’s Historic Preservation 2009.