Page 6 - GC Nov-Dec 2022

German places you should know: St. Francis of Assisi in the City of Tonawanda

by Martin Ederer Rev. Francis Uhrich, who be- figure at the parish. In 1877, he had walls – which never had the chance store the old church to usable condi-
t. Francis of Assisi Parish was came pastor in 1853, added on to the a tower built onto the stone church, to warm up – sweated so much that tion as a weekday chapel and a
Sestablished in the City of original frame building, providing complete with a clock and bells. the floor ended up covered with columbarium. As work progressed,
Tonawanda as it was growing into a classroom space and became the After structural damage in the late water. It is somehow ironic that he he discovered that many of the win-
prosperous and bustling port on the school’s first teacher. Later he built 1930s, the tower got shortened. died of pneumonia. dows covered by painted plywood
Erie Canal and developing a pros- a separate school on Adam street. Bachmann built a new school dedi- After World War II, growth in were largely intact; others which
perous lumbering and lumber trans- Meanwhile, the parish outgrew cated in 1883. In 1914 he built a Tonawanda made the old stone had been removed were relocated
shipment industry. Although no the frame church. In 1862 he decid- new convent on Adam Street. church too small, and in 1954 the and returned for the renovation proj-
written records indicate St. John ed to build a larger stone church, a Although he was an avid build- parish bult a new church, which ect. The old church was rededicated
Neumann was active in the decision the Irish of the parish sup- er, Bachmann was better remem- Bishop Joseph Burke blessed in in 1993. Some statues from the
Tonawanda area, local lore recounts ported, but which some of the Ger- bered for his thrift. During the 1955. The old stone church became original church decorate the old
his visits to say Mass in the homes mans opposed. winter he said Mass wearing over- a gymnasium, and later a storage church again, now with a very mod-
of Tonawanda’s original German Work began in 1862 without the coat and galoshes, heating the shed, the windows boarded up. In ernized interior, which also has a
Catholic families. More normally, benefit of architect or contractor, the church only for Sunday Masses with the 1980s, Rev. Richard L. Wetter Pietà woodcarving from St. Mary of
Catholics in Tonawanda went to volunteer work of older parishio- a roaring fire so hot that the cold initiated an ambitious project to re- Sorrows in Buffalo.
Neumann’s North Bush chapel ners whose sons were away fighting
when possible. the Civil War. The new church on
In 1849, Bishop John Timon Adam Street was given a new name:
visited the area and tried to get lo- St. Francis of Assisi, the patron
cals to secure land for a parish. Not saint of Uhrich. The old Franklin
much seems to have come of the Street church was cut in half. One by Marge Thielman Hastreiter
visit, since the bishop later estab- half was loaded on a barge, along ven in my wildest dream I
lished a committee himself in 1851 with the old altar, and shipped to Ewould never think that I would
to do the same. Grand Island where it became, St. be visiting the city of Vienna, Aus-
Apparently the committee still Arbogast Church, later renamed St. tria. But on May 15, 2000 my hus-
moved too slowly for Timon, who Stephen for Rev. Uhrich’s middle band Joe and I were in the heart of
bought two lots himself on Franklin name. Uhrich also cared for that that beautiful city looking for the
Street in 1852. The eccentric Rus- new parish from 1861-62. starting point of a tour featuring the
sian Rev. Sergei de Schoulepnikoff, St. Francis endured its share of locations of the filming of "The
who in his spare time did math and instability after Uhrich’s tenure end- Third Man."
played chess, served the new mis- ed in 1865: from 1865-1874, four That was one of Joe's favorite
sion from St. Louis in Buffalo and pastors served the parish. In 1874, movies and when we saw the poster
built a small frame church in 1852, Rev. Aloysius Bachmann became advertising the tour we knew that
dedicating it to the Sacred Heart. pastor, a post he held until his death would be one of the highlights on
in 1923. He became a legendary our trip which was financed by our
children, Joe, Cindy, Diane and Lin-
da. The tour was to start at 4 p.m.
We got there a little early so we had
a chance to walk through Stadt Joseph Hastreitter Sr. after the tour.
(City) Park where there was a gold
statue of Johann Strauss and many the nearest opening was around the several flights of stone steps into a
beautiful gardens. block. Finally Joe and the others deep, deep basement.
Still early, we took a tour of the came above ground. Somehow going down so far
Opera House with the Scarlet velvet Other stops on the tour which didn't seem to bother me because I
curtains and the huge stage. Finally, were featured in the film included could hear music coming from be-
it was time for the tour. the Hotel Sacher, Café Mozart, low. There was a young man play-
Joe knew a lot about the film some unusual monuments and a ing 'The Third Man Theme' on a
which starred, Joseph Cotton, Orson doorway where an integral part of Zither.
Welles and Trevor Howard. A the movie was filmed. The tour con- The tour was quite long, but we
woman in a wheelchair and her hus- cluded at a shop with many beauti- were glad we took it because we
band, also lovers of the film, were ful handmade items and down saw a lot more of Vienna which we
on the tour. The guide took us to a ordinarily would not have seen.
little building, which looked like a
phone booth, gave us a flashlight
and said we were going to descend
into the sewers. We started going
down a circular staircase and I said,
'no way' as I get claustrophobia so I
went back up above ground. The
wheelchair lady and her husband
and one of the guides were also
above.
Down below, according to Joe,
it was dark and a very long walk.
They were warned there might be a
few gun shots. Joe heard six shots
and they were told that the sewer
workers make those noises to scare
the tourists. A scene in the movie
shows the actors in the sewer and
they went to an exact spot from the
movie, which is thrilling for the
movie buffs.
Above ground, the four of us
went to the place where the others
were supposed to come up from the
sewer. There was construction on
that site and the guide found out that

Johann Strauss Monument in
Stadt Park.