Is the Fugitive Slave Chapel strong enough to survive relocation?
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A structural engineer and the city’s heritage planner have both weighed in on the plan to relocate the Fugitive Slave Chapel later this year.
A structural engineer and the city’s heritage planner have both weighed in on the plan to relocate the Fugitive Slave Chapel later this year.
In a new report, moving the 174-year-old wooden chapel from the SOHO neighbourhood to the Fanshawe Pioneer Village is deemed ‘safe’ by an engineer who conducted an on-site review.
After eight years sitting vacant and exposed to the elements, former city councillor Harold Usher says the chapel’s enduring structural strength is nothing short of a miracle.
“I think that God was using their hands to build something that would be long-lasting,” Usher said.
I really do think so. It’s amazing!”
In 2014, the building was moved from its original location on Thames Street to a vacant property in the SOHO neighbourhood.
However, fundraising and restoration efforts stalled — putting the chapel at risk.