Madison Mysteries: No church, just the steeple
Somewhat-investigative reports on the oddities of local life
Chris Connolly
What's this, Our Lady of the Parking Lot?
No related
The mystery: Why is there a gigantic disembodied church steeple in the parking lot at 734 E. Washington Ave.?
The solution: Unlike most stories about church, this one involves mystery transients, stolen wine, arson, and disaster. The 100-foot tall spire, constructed of copper and stainless steel, originally crowned the 150-year-old St. Raphael’s Cathedral downtown at 222 W. Main St. It cost $1 million to make and was intended to be the final stroke in the nearly $14 million restoration of the church in 2005.
In March of that year, just after the restoration was completed, 41-year-old transient William Connell broke in with a crowbar, stole a bottle of wine, and started a fire that would gut the cathedral. The charred building stood there for three years while the Diocese of Madison sorted out insurance issues and planned for rebuilding. In the meantime, Connell confessed. He had a long history of mental illness, including paranoid schizophrenia. Although he said in court that, "If I was the judge in this case, I would find myself guilty on all three charges," he was dispatched to a mental institution for treatment until he could be declared fit to stand trial. He was eventually sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The spire finally arrived at its current location at Reynolds Transfer and Storage this June for safekeeping. Like many other features of St. Raphael’s—including three bells, a stained-glass window, and even the original cathedral walls—it will eventually be used in the reconstruction. For now, it’ll just confuse the hell out of passersby and make East Wash look kind of cool for once.
Got a Madison Mystery worth looking into? Write us at editorial@madison.decider.com.
