According to Rev. Jonah P. Burakowski, mission executive for the South Wisconsin District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the work to begin shoring up the exterior walls of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1046 N. 9th St., which was extensively damaged in a fire on May 15, is expected to begin in the next few weeks.
Triad Construction has been hired to secure the walls so that they can support first a temporary and then a permanent roof. After the structure is made watertight, work can begin on the interior of the building.
Triad will epoxy a series of steel beams to the exterior walls to brace the building, allowing it to bear the weight of a roof. According to Burakowski, a foundry is currently fabricating the beams and the completion of that phase will dictate when work can begin at the church.
(PHOTO: Courtesy of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church)
In the meantime, the Trinity congregation continues to hold Sunday worship services at Milwaukee Area Technical College, until a more permanent temporary home is secured.
"They will be there probably through July," Burakowski said Friday morning. "The two congregations are working out the details and when they’re ready we will make that announcement."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
