A $7 million renovation project, which should be completed by the summer of 2013, involves restoring its signature organ and delicate stained glass windows and bringing the cathedral’s electrical and structural components up to code ”” a major undertaking for a building completed in 1925.
The renovation, like many home-repair projects, uncovered something a bit unusual: The marble floor around the altar was held up by concrete, plaster of Paris and straw.
“We were pretty much astounded,’’ said The Very Rev. Douglas Wm McCaleb, who is overseeing the project.
The $7 Million price tag is pretty impressive for the Cathedral which had only a $320 Thousand Plate & Pledge in 2010 and that sum in inflation adjusted dollars in down about 20 percent since 2002. Seating is 800 while ASA in 2010 was about 275 so there is room for growth. And the Dio could use some growth with Marraiges down 38 percent and Infant Baptisms down 42 percent from 2002 to 2010. Statmann