St. Mary’s convent razed

Editor’s Note: St. Mary’s Catholic Church is one of the cluster parishes that includes St. Joseph’s in Wellman and Holy Trinity in Richmond.

Removing the former St. Mary’s Convent, part of the complex of buildings for St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Riverside, started Monday morning with total site clearance expected by Wednesday. ?The demolition of the approximate 120 year old structure is part of the parish’s $2 million Education/Conference Center project that will be attached to St. Mary’s Hall, the original church. ?The south part of the convent building is believed to have been the original parochial school, said Pastor Rich Adam. ??Building lines indicate that the north convent part was built later, and the demolition revealed the clear outline of an original chimney in the south (school) part.
The convent, as well as the parish’s other four buildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Prior to the razing, three historic bricks, bearing the name of the Swift brick and tile factory that built a lot of Riverside’s early buildings, were removed. ?One will be kept and installed in a memorial wall, using original bricks from the building and the other two are set to be auction during the church’s Labor Day Festival.
“They are very rare,” said Adam.
The Center is expected to be done possibly by late spring.