Cathedral demolition has begun
St. Ray's walls are coming down.
Demolition work on the historic St. Raphael's Cathedral started Monday, despite a plea a week ago to get landmark status for the Catholic church, virtually destroyed by arson fire over three years ago.
A restraining order petition by landmark status backers, attempting to stop Landgraf Construction from knocking down the walls, was filed Tuesday morning with Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess, but the judge almost immediately denied the petition, paving the way for demolition work to continue.
The Diocese of Madison said Monday the landmark status was "a non-issue," since the building was essentially in ruins.
"No one wanted to see St. Raphael's the target of an arson fire or to be destroyed," said Brent King, spokesman for the diocese. "The fact that it happened means the diocese needs to look to the future of a cathedral and to what is best for the entire diocese, as difficult as it is for everyone in the diocese and the city."
The city issued a demolition permit July 1, since the diocese had safety concerns about leaving the shell standing on its downtown site at 222 W. Main St.
Landmark preservation advocate Gary Tipler of Madison told The Capital Times he was at St. Ray's Monday and watched Landgraf start the demolition process.
"They pulled the east wall down already on Monday," Tipler said. "It's a terrible thing."
An application to preserve St. Ray's as a landmark was filed with the city Landmarks Commission on June 4, but city preservationist Katherine Rankin told commissioners last week holding a hearing on the landmark status application was "a waste of time" since the demolition permit was already issued and the building didn't have adequate structural integrity.
King reiterated Rankin's feelings.
"The fact the structure is physically unstable was only further emphasized by the city of Madison's issuance of a notice of demolition earlier this year," King said.
Jamie McCarville of Madison attends St. Patrick's Catholic Church downtown and was baptized at St. Ray's.
She was disturbed by the fact the demolition process began a week earlier than scheduled.
"This was a cruel thing to do," McCarville said. "It's really sad to see, something so important to Madison being thrown away."
McCarville said a petition letter was circulating to keep St. Ray's alive, but it's probably a moot point.
King said it's been three years since the fire in March 2005 and nothing was said by any preservationists in that time to get landmark status for the cathedral, constructed in 1854.
The diocese has plans to build a new cathedral for Madison but no timetable has been set.
Bishop Robert Morlino announced in April a feasibility study would be done and a capital campaign would begin, but fund-raising efforts for a new cathedral have been put on hold and won't start for at least a year.
Mike DeVries/The Capital Times
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The interior of what remains of St. Raphael's Cathedral, which was heavily damaged in a fire on March 14, 2005.
