HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - It's a long way to the top of the steeple at the Church of the Nativity, Episcopal - about 151 feet, by most accounts.
That's how far the scaffolding and new copper shingles stretch into the downtown Huntsville skyline, a shiny and formidable reminder of the renovation of the church.
"We made a commitment to do it right," said the Rev. Andy Anderson, rector of the church.
The church's goal was to raise $3.1 million when it began a capital campaign in 2007 for restoration and other projects. By December 2007, the church had raised $3.6 million.
Then, in December 2009, the church received a Save America's Treasure grant administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
The church, built in the 1850s, has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1992.
The grant was for $434,216. It was awarded, in part, because the church was "a pristine example of Ecclesiological Gothic architecture, and one of the most intact examples of the works of noted Ecclesiological architect Frank Wills," according to the National Park Service's announcement of the matching grants.
For 2009, the church was the only structure in Alabama to receive a Save America's Treasures grant and one of 40 in the United States. Copperworks of Decatur is doing work on the steeple, installing the interlocking copper shingles.
Work on the steeple began in early February. Depending on the weather, it should end in mid-May, said Loch Neely, chairman of the church's capital campaign implementation board.
"It (the copper) makes good sense," Neely said. "It's a good material, and you don't have to paint it. It lasts a long time."
The restoration of the church is scheduled to end this fall, after interior work is completed. Restoration began, more or less, with a long-range planning process in 2005.
"It was not a knee-jerk reaction," Anderson said. "It was a long-range planning process. We had a real clear objective for (the) money."
Church leaders knew they needed a new roof and stained-glass work. But they realized additional work would be necessary after a visit from Noblin and Associates, an engineering consulting firm from Boston. All the bricks would need repointing, using lime mortar to replace the Portland cement mortar.
"Everything we do," Neely said, "is an attempt to go the original and proper way to be historically and structurally correct."
Restoration started with the removal, cleaning and repair of the stained-glass windows. Many window panes needed replacing. A local man and a company in Virginia were responsible for stained-glass work.
The brick work is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month.
"The nice thing about replacing the bricks, we found some of the same (bricks) in New Market," said Ernest "Skipper" Colin. the project manager for the restoration. "A guy from Decatur was tearing down an old building (there). He didn't need a lot of them, so we got them through him."
When the work is done, the church, with its new shingles, will be aglow on sunny days. "Some people's reaction is, 'I need my sunglasses to look at this, particularly when it's new and shiny,'" Anderson said. "We'll have a spectacular day when the sun is shining bright."
Panoramic view of downtown Huntsville 151 feet up from the top of the Church of the Nativity steeple. Click on the menu button and use your mouse to control the movement and zoom in and out on the photo. (The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany)