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New Church Spire

A crane hoisted a new copper-clad spire onto the top of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Broad Street in Charleston on Monday March 8. The spire and gilded cross bring the height of St. John's to 167 feet.

Charleston's skyline was blessed with a new landmark Monday afternoon, as a crane hoisted a new copper-clad spire onto the top of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

Shortly after Bishop of Charleston Robert Guglielmone shook holy water on the 16-foot-tall cross, he recalled a recent visit to James Island.

He and his visiting friends spent a moment looking back across the harbor and commented on all the visible church steeples.

"They asked, 'Where was St. John's?' " Guglielmone said. "I said, 'You can't see St. John's right now, but in a couple of weeks, you will be able to.' "

The brownstone cathedral essentially has doubled in height with the addition. It had stood 82 feet tall since it was built more than 100 years ago.

By 2 p.m. Monday, its new spire reached 151 feet in the air -- or 167 feet, factoring in the gilded cross on top.

That's less than 20 feet below the tip of St. Michael's Church spire just down Broad Street and about 30 feet lower than St. Philip's Church -- the other tall landmark in the oldest part of downtown Charleston.

Architect Glenn Keyes and Reuben Solar were on hand to watch the installation. Their design consists of three sections: a belfry, which was installed late last year; a copper middle section or "lantern"; and a steel spire coated with a copper lattice.

The top two sections are very open so hurricane winds can pass through them without creating unsafe stress on the lower part of the church, Solar said.

The installation of the 4-ton spire began with a 12:30 p.m. blessing and ended as workers secured it in place about 90 minutes later.

Traffic was stopped temporarily along Broad Street, as a few hundred people left their homes, offices and schools to watch.

Jack and Lucille Murphy of Philadelphia, whose son helped repair the cathedral's stone, set up green folding chairs for the free show.

"It was awesome," he said. "One of the biggest things I've ever seen."

The spire largely was built over nine months by Erno Ovari, a German copper craftsman who moved to Salt Lake City three years ago. It's his largest project here to date.

"I can't compare it to anything back there (in Europe)," he said. "It's just very unique. This is what we wanted."

All of the steeple's details, including its Gothic arches, engaged columns and decorative chalices, echo features on the existing historic church, Keyes said. Even the design of the new gilded cross is similar to the green Celtic cross perched on the cathedral's northern end.

For longtime members, the new steeple is a culmination of a shared goal held ever since the church was substantially finished around 1907. At that time, the congregation lacked the money to add a steeple.

"This was always a dream," Guglielmone said. "One hundred and three years, that's not too bad. Some cathedrals in Europe were 300 to 400 years in construction."

The $7 million project, done by Hightower Construction Co., also included extensive repairs to worn brownstone elements and stained glass, as well as new air conditioning and sound systems.

The steeple will receive its finishing touches through this week, and the work is expected to be largely wrapped up by month's end.

"This cross will be a sign of our Christian presence here in this community, but our presence here is on the ground, not up there," Guglielmone said as he presided over the blessing. "That's a sign of it. That cross will always remind us of who we are."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.