Project of the Month:
“The Chapel”
600 Frederick Rd in Catonsville, MD has been used as a church since it was originally built as the Paradise Presbyterian church back in 1880, when Catonsville was still a rural area surrounded by large farms and the summer estates of wealthy businessmen from Baltimore City. It was built in the Gothic Revival style popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the most commonly identifiable features of Gothic Revival style is the pointed arch, as seen on this building in the windows, doors and interior woodwork, and steep gables of which the roof of this structure is built.
As the membership grew, the Church changed hands several times. One of the founding members of the Baltimore County Arts Guild, Kirby Spencer, has recently purchased the property and contacted Fichtner Services to help with the exterior renovation! We recently completed a full roof and gutter replacement on this building, ensuring that this space will be protected from the elements for years to come! In all, the project took a full 2 weeks to complete due to the steepness of the roof. The steeple alone took 5 days from our crane in the 95-100 degree heat!
Ms. Spencer’s vision is to turn the old church into a space that allows the arts to flourish. “The Chapel” as it will be called, will be used as both a wedding and live music venue as well as pop-up art shows. She is hoping to establish a signature gateway property to the newly formed Arts & Entertainment District, the “Catonsville Arts District”, which is the 1st of its kind in Baltimore County. Further plans for the venue include an outdoor patio with a muraled wall for additional space, and possibly a tearoom by day, as a place to relax among the art and beautiful architecture.
They are aiming for an opening in the first quarter of 2022. You can check out some of the other art attractions in Baltimore County here:
We enjoyed working with Ms. Spencer on this really cool project and this is what she had to say about us:
“The experience I had with Fichtner was amazing. Professional and courteous are the staff and knowledgeable of the possible pitfalls with a structure this old. My first time owning a chapel venue and with such a high steep pitch, Fichtner took every precaution and opportunity to review in detail the issues up there that I could not see from street level. I would highly recommend them to everyone.”
We are looking forward to visiting “The Chapel” once complete! We thank Ms. Spencer for trusting us with this huge project and wish her the best of luck!
