Holy Family Cathedral Rebuilding Spires

Chris Howell NewsOn6.com

Tulsa--The Holy Family Cathedral is the cathedral parish for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. It is has had a thorough restoration on the inside, and work on the spires should be wrapping up in the next two months.

(See the previous story on the Holy Family Cathedral's inside restoration.)

"This is the oldest continuously standing church building in Tulsa, so we wanted to take care of it." says Youth Minister Mike Malcom.

The weakened wooden spires have been replaced by metal, and the crew from Manhattan Construction is currently covering them with copper tiles. The brilliant copper reflects brightly when new, but will patina to a green color as it weathers.

"When I look up there I am scared for them, they're up pretty high but they have it all under control," Malcom says."These are the professionals who have no fear of going up there. They seem to enjoy it because they feel like they are part of a big structure that's going to be around for a while."

"The spires hadn't been rebuilt since 1913. We're 280 feet from where we're standing to the peak of the steeple. It took some engineering to make it safe for our workers on top," says Cliff Crawford, the on site manager for Manhattan Construction, "hopefully by the beginning of summer we'll be finished."

"We have to make sure everything is working properly so we can keep the building safe and keep it standing for another hundred years," says Malcom.

The Holy Family Cathedral is located at 122 W 8th Street in Tulsa.

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