Historic Church Undergoes Seismic Renovation

The priesthood is not normally the kind of occupation that requires a hard hat.

But here’s Msgr. Peter Nugent in white collar and silver helmet, standing before a dusty pile of bricks that once made up the back wall of the Santa Clara Church.

“We’ve talked for four years about this,” Nugent said, peering through a gaping hole. “It’s great to see it happen.”

Nugent is overseeing a renovation of the historic church, which began last week. It is a project for which families in Santa Clara and other donors have saved for years, collecting $2.4 million to shore up the building in time for its 100th anniversary in 2004.

Built long before earthquake standards were established, the church has managed surprisingly well this century. A 1957 quake reduced its 125-foot tower to 108 feet. But the church survived the 1994 Northridge earthquake with only minor cracks.

“The whole building was very strongly built,” said Frank Lee, the Los Angeles contractor hired to handle the project.

His crew will reinforce the back wall with concrete and steel, and then put the pieces back together brick by brick over the next nine months. The other walls, including the one dividing the sanctuary from the back offices, do not need refurbishing.

The momentary destruction is a blessing, and a bit of a pain. Weekday Mass has moved to the auditorium of Santa Clara Elementary School across the street. A week of banging hammers was just getting too noisy, Nugent said.

Opened in 1904, the stone and brick church is an Oxnard landmark, with a bell tower and high ceilings reminiscent of Gothic architecture.

But the plaster inside is fractured. The stained glass, though still bright, is cracked and pitted. Repairs will cost an additional $1 million, money the parish is expecting to raise slowly, as it has for this most recent work.