MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU) — A more than 100 year-old landmark on Marshfield’s Central Avenue has a date with the wrecking ball, and Father Keith Kitzhaber from Sacred Heart Catholic Church says that when the parish school comes down later this month, it’ll change the look of Marshfield’s south side forever.
“The building was built in 1917,” Kitzhaber said, “and it was used as the church until the current church was built in the 1930s. It’s a very big building and it’s right on Central Avenue, the main street of town.”
The building hasn’t been used as a school since 2001. It’s being razed since it contains lead and asbestos, has the heating and insurance costs of a century-old structure, and it also didn’t accommodate elderly parishioners.
“The cost of maintenance was more than the cost of removal and the building of a new structure,” according to Kitzhaber. “It’s not handicap accessible in any way. It wasn’t accessible to many of the parishioners that we have who need and use walkers, wheelchairs, canes, and such.”
Planning and fundraising for a new single-level structure are underway to replace the original building. “It will actually be connected to the church itself,” Kitzhaber explained. “It’s going to all be on the same level and used for meetings and funerals and other gatherings for the parish.”
Many of the materials contained in the demolished building are being reclaimed and resold to help defray costs of a new structure; and Kitzhaber says he’s especially excited about observing and contributing to the project since he was employed as an electrical engineer prior to becoming a priest.
