Basilica of St. Josaphat Undergoing $7.5 Million Renovation

The restoration at the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee is moving forward.

The Basilica is undergoing a $7.5 million renovation project.

Some of the repairs were described as urgent.

Crews used this crane to replace cracked and missing blocks from the exterior of the building.

Monday morning, contractors lifted one of 5 separate 9-thousand pound stones to the top of the basilica.

The church, which was built in 1901, was built with materials from an old post office in Chicago.

The blocks that were installed today are actually from the same quarry in Ohio as the original blocks.

So the look should be pretty seamless.  The installation has to be done very delicately. They said it's like fragile Lego pieces.

The St Josephat Basilica Foundation said this is needed to protect everything inside.

"We've got one of a kind artworks stained glass windows, mirrors, all things that are irreplaceable so we want to make sure that the inside is continue to be preserved by taking care of the outside, said Susan Rabe.

This is just phase one of the project.  It, also, includes adding lighting to the base of the dome.