A major masonry restoration at St. Peter Cathedral in Marquette, Michigan, is nearing the finish line. After two years of work, crews are putting final touches on the cathedral’s bell tower, and the scaffolding is expected to come down next week.
Pastor Father Brandon Oman said the project is about more than maintaining a building. He described the cathedral as a lasting reflection of the community’s faith and the generations who helped build it.
The $2.6 million effort focused on the uppermost 40 feet of the bell tower, where winter freeze-thaw conditions took a heavy toll. Lead mason foreman Bill Klein said the team found severe deterioration once they reached the tower. Some 200- to 300-pound stones had shifted outward by about 8 inches. Klein said workers were able to pull some stone out of the wall by hand, without saw cutting. Behind the stone, the backup brick had deteriorated to the point that it also pulled free by hand.
In total, the crew removed and replaced about 30 tons of brick and rubble. To match the historic look, Klein said a stone contact in Ohio helped source salvaged stone from St. Andrews Church in Cincinnati after that church was demolished. Klein said his team then hand-carved about 10,000 pounds of large boulders for installation at St. Peter Cathedral. He noted a historical connection as well, saying Father Baraga came from Cincinnati.
The work also drew strong community interest. Klein said residents quickly claimed broken stone pieces that came down during the restoration, emptying pallets of rubble in about 45 minutes as they took home small keepsakes.
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