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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An apartment complex will be built on the site of an old Omaha church that once claimed the founder of fabled Boys Town among its priests.
The majestic windows of stained glass at St. Patrick have gone to other parishes. The angelic cherubs that once graced the building have been sold to a collector. The neighborhood is so old that a curb outside the church's front door has a ring in it where horses used to be tied.
After the church, rectory and gym are gone, only a three-story brick schoolhouse will remain on the 2-acre site. They'll be replaced by dozens of apartment units in two new structures, with one connected to the school building.
St. Patrick was dedicated in 1910 and Father Edward Flanagan arrived in 1913. During Flanagan's three years at St. Patrick, he opened a residence on 11th Street with parishioners providing food, clothes and linens for homeless and other men. Flanagan then went on to start what became Boys Town, the Omaha World-Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1TR0B2G ).
Developer Rob Woodling and its Foundations Development paid $500,000 for the St. Patrick property, and Woodling said his project could include independent senior living and market-rate apartments that have been in demand in similar pockets not far from downtown.
Woodling wants the project to please St. Patrick families.
"You want to be respectful of the history here and understand this was people's spiritual home for a long time," he said. Bricks saved from the demolition will be offered to parish families as keepsakes.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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