St Bridget's Church

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The Parish was founded 1869. However. It wasn't until 1882 that construction began on the current church. It took eight years to complete, and in 1890 parishioners filled the pews. The structure was designed by Patrick Charles Keeley, the premier Roman Catholic church architect in North America.

St. Bridgets had a long, albeit uneventful history. In 1997 the archdiocese merged 4 other parishes into the St. Bridgets Parish; St Peters, St Boniface, St Marys and St Michaels. Bridget's was left a worship site, rarely being used over the next two decades. The building recieved a facelift in 2011, but unfortunately it wouldn't stave off its inevitable closure. The convent, school, and rectory were converted into housing in 2014. The church building was listed for sale, and was used to host flea markets and other ceremonies from 2014 to 2017. I even attended one of the flea markets, marveling the entire time at the gorgeous building it was set in. However, the structure was converted to apartments in 2019.

The crew got right to work stripping out the balcony and gutting the plaster from the nave. They tore up the hardwood floor, leaving very little of the original interior undisturbed. Renderings for the apartment spaces show vaulted plaster ceilings in some of the units, which actually look quite nice. Hopefully the nearby St Lucy's Church will recieve a similar treatment, as it is also due to be renovated in the coming months. Only time will tell.