Sloping steeple 'won't come down,' church says

Strong winds have blown the steeple at Fort Street Presbyterian Church in downtown Detroit off its axis, but the church has plans to fix it, and will, just as soon as the wind dies down, the weather warms up, the auto show ends and the necessary permits come through, a secretary for the church said Wednesday.

But Lola Davidson, church secretary, said a fix is in the works and has been for months. For now, the church has placed caution tape in the area to keep people from walking in its path Davidson said. Once conditions allow, a crew will be brought in to straighten the steeple once again.

The steeple dates back to the church’s construction in 1876. Its problems with the wind date back to March 2017, media reports show. Last March, windstorms left around one million people in Southeast Michigan without power. The National Weather Service measured wind gusts of 68 miles per hour at Detroit Metro Airport, and 61 mph at Detroit City Airport at the time. 

Davidson said the church is waiting on permits. 

“It won’t come down,” Davidson said. “It is attached inside, by wire, so it won’t come down; the wind will move it back and forth based on how strong the wind is. It’s no threat right now.”

A spokeswoman for Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental department could not immediately be reached.