On this Easter morning, we have an update from Jan Morrison on the restoration of 142-year-old St. Augustine’s Church, which overlooks the Lincoln Highway through Austin, Nevada. It is the oldest Catholic church building in the state.
A new roof has enabled workers to remove the interior ceiling scaffolding/supports. Jan is now pursuing a grant of $276,000 to finish the exterior, install ADA entrances, and restore the doors and windows so it can open for tours.
An interesting factoid is that when we re-did the roof, nearly 15 tons of pigeon and bat waste were removed. As a result, the ceiling and roof-ridge rose nearly 5 inches!
Also, the weight and aging of the roof structure had caused the side walls to move out up to 9 inches. Everything was brought true and the church is now secure for another 142 years!
However, had we not gotten in and fortified the roof structure, pulled in the walls, and removed the waste, it is pretty clear that this winter would have been a catastrophe. We had very, very heavy snowfalls that most likely would have cause the roof to cave in.
For more info and images, click here. And schedule extra time for Austin on your next trip across Nevada.
Tags: Auatin, Catholic church oldest in NV, church restoration, Nevada
Lincoln Highway News 
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