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| Audsley / Saint Joan of Arc Cross |
Page 98...
"Day by day
we awaited the arrival of the steam shovel. After what seemed an
endless
delay it arrived on December 13 (1921). The cement footings were laid
at once before
the ground, which was of the firmest brick clay, had any chance
of falling
in. Then came the frost and we had to wait once more. the winter
was very
mild and it was possible for the stone masons to lay the heavy
foundations
in the early part of January. They brought them up to ground
level.
The first
plans provided that the auditorium should be about eighteen feet
below the
ground level. The City Hall, however, raised an objection. If this
arrangement
was to be followed it would be necessary to provide ramps
instead of
stairways for the exits; and this in turn would mean the building of
a retaining
wall that would have increased the price by many thousands of
dollars. Mr.
Audsley met the difficulty by raising the whole building and
providing
plans for a new front elevation to harmonize with the alteration. It
was a
satisfactory change. The proximity of the neighboring houses really
made it
desirable to place the school-rooms as high as possible.
The basement
auditorium was changed into a temporary Church. This is the
explanation
of its character. We had previously intended to hold services
temporarily
on the first school floor. It was well that this difficulty occurred,
for it was
not many years before we needed more space for school rooms
than one
floor would have provided.
On January
24 the steel began to arrive. The building was to be completely
fire-proof;
even the floors were to be nailed to a new cement with the use of
sleepers.
Practically no wood entered into the construction, or the
partitions
were built later on from gypsum.
Early in February the bricklayers strike was
settled. Our building was the first to profit by it; indeed, it was by persuading
Mr. Melody to withdraw from the Masters Builders Committee that we were
able to bring this happy solution of a very serious situation.
Throughout
the month of February the brickwork progressed like magic,
whilst the
great steel columns and beams were being erected. I tried my had
at riveting
and was able to put in a few bolts under close supervision. I learnt
then what
heavy work it was to sit aloft and bear the constant vibration of the
compressed
air riveter. The cement of the first floor was poured on March
16th. I
remember the occasion very well. From our elevation we could see
the Delaware
river and there was a fresh breeze flowing. My friend, the
building
inspector, with whom I had once a controversy, was watching the
proceedings
and he expressed his admiration for the strength of the
construction.
We left a
portion of the wall at the south-western corner below level so that
the
solemnity of the corner stone laying might take place in fair weather.
Bishop Crane
officiated on Palm Sunday. Before the ceremony the
Bricklayers
Union requested the pleasure of making him an honorary
member of
their guild to record the settlement of the strike. Bishop Crane
was
compelled to refuse this kind suggestion for reasons that are obvious.
Mr. Audsley
appeared in his best and superintended the laying of the
beautiful
stone that he had designed, a gift of the stone contractor. In it were
placed
various articles destined to prove the date of the event....
By the end
of May the brickwork was finished and in another month the roof
was on. The
plastering began at once. On July 2 the first mass was said in
the new
building on the middle floor. For one month the Sunday masses
were
celebrated in this inconvenient place, the floor being of unfinished
cement. The
plasters completed their work in the Auditorium by the end of
July. On
August 6 mass was said here, the floor being still unfinished.
Everything
was practically in order by October 8 [1922].
The motif of
a cross within a circle that appeared on the school's corner
stone had
been earlier used by Audsley on the family monument at Mount Hope
Cemetery in
Yonkers, New York. It would serve as the marker of his final
resting place upon
his death on 21 June 1925."
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