HISTORY: Some people are so well suited for their job that you can’t imagine what else they might do. And in our opinion, Sally Costik is the right person for the Bradford Landmark Society.
She dropped us a line the other day: “While some people watch TV or play games on their computer, I read old newspapers. And last night I found an interesting article on the dedication of St. Bernard Catholic Church dated Oct. 9, 1893, which listed the firm of Post & Holmes, of Toronto, Canada as the architects. While we knew that William Hanley had built the church, the names of the architects were not known.
“On a whim, I looked up the names of Post & Holmes on the Internet and found a great website called www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org, and found out that Post & Holmes were prolific architects back in the 19th and early 20th century, specializing in ecclesiastical design,” Sally said. “Between them they designed nearly 100 Catholic churches in and around Toronto. I contacted the site and got back an immediate response from the webmaster, Robert C. Hill, himself a respected architect and historian.”
And he responded.
He wrote in part: “We are indebted to you for kindly providing us with the original newspaper images from the Bradford Era, and from the Smethport McKean Democrat, which confirm that the Toronto architectural of Post & Holmes designed St. Bernard Church in Bradford.
“I have looked at this church on Google Street View, and I must say this is a very substantial and impressive Gothic Revival work which appears to be in original condition, with no alterations or modifications. I’m delighted to see this building still stands today. You have asked about how a Toronto firm could have been selected for this job, and it may be related to another work, from the same time, located in Michigan. In addition, there may have been an architectural competition in Bradford, or there may have been a family or business connection between Post and Mr. Hanley (Hanley was originally from Canada) in Bradford.
“The American connection with Post is important to note here….In 1896 or 1897 Post moved from Toronto to Buffalo, N.Y. and continued his practice there under his own name, and he remained there until his death in 1926.
“Thank you again for alerting us to this rare American work by a Toronto architectural firm.”
And a thank you from us, too, Sally.
