This is one of two historic stained glass windows damaged in a recent act of vandalism at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on South Second Street in Watertown.
St Paul’s Episcopal Church on Watertown’s near south side has been on the National Register of Historic Places since November of 1979 and was the recent victim of vandalism.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Watertown’s south side was hit by vandalism in recent days when two of its historic stained glass windows on its south side were knocked out by a vandal.
This is one of two historic stained glass windows damaged in a recent act of vandalism at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on South Second Street in Watertown.
St Paul’s Episcopal Church on Watertown’s near south side has been on the National Register of Historic Places since November of 1979 and was the recent victim of vandalism.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Watertown’s south side was hit by vandalism in recent days when two of its historic stained glass windows on its south side were knocked out by a vandal.
A pair of historic stained glass windows on the south side of Watertown’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church were the casualties of a recent wave of downtown vandalism.
According to information provided by the church and Watertown police, a vandal caused damage to windows in the church’s lancet niches and to a window in the door of the Hawkins Hall entrance over the past weekend.
The stained-glass windows date to the late 1800s and the incident is believed to have occurred late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
Neighbors of the church heard plexiglass that was set in place to protect the stained glass shattering, with the glass breaking after hard objects were thrown through them.
“The glass landed on the organ and was shattered in some pieces to a powder,” said Matt Brody of the church. “Salvageable pieces are being held for restoration work made possible by church insurance. The hall door on the corner of South Third Street was the third window destroyed that night and there were some signs of an attempted entry.”
The hall door and the windows have plywood over them as they await repair.
“The church has been making many improvements to beautify and maintain its buildings and grounds, including a significant upgrade to the rectory and painting of exterior trim along the roofline and in other high places,” Brody said. “The church is the oldest in both Dodge and Jefferson counties.”
Watertown Police Department Assistant Chief Ben Olsen said the department has noticed an increase in graffiti and criminal damage to property complaints in the city in the past few weeks.
“The department received at least five graffiti complaints on June 2,” Olsen said. “Graffiti was mostly contained to downtown. We received complaints at the 100 block of East Main Street, the 500 block of East Main Street, the 100 block of South 1st Street and the 300 block of East Main Street. An 18-year-old male was questioned and admitted to spray painting. The subject was given multiple citations for graffiti.”
A citation for graffiti is approximately $200 and the case remains open. Olsen said prosecutors need to determine how much the person will need to pay for restitution.
About a week after the graffiti on June 2, there was a night of damage done to property, again, mainly in the central area of the city.
“We do not believe the two incidents are related,” Olsen said. “We have suspects, therefore we will not be releasing any additional information at this time.”
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