Structural engineers specializing in masonry were at the 410 N. Main St. church in Jamestown on Wednesday to look at the iconic bell tower. Barbara A. Campagna, a Buffalo-based preservation architect overseeing the St. Lukes project, said the tower has some “pretty significant issues” in how the exterior sandstone is connected to the backup brick.

The engineers — utilizing a giant lift that closed a portion of North Main Street — used a radar device to review portions of the bell tower wall.

The Rev. Luke Fodor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church pastor, said a gap opened between the interior brick wall and the stone facade.

“So water gets in, pours down and then it creates, of course, a deterioration of the stone and brick and causes potentially some structural instability,” Fodor said. “Right now things are relatively solid, but we need to make sure that there isn’t a bigger issue.”

St. Luke’s received $500,000 in state funding in December 2018 for the preservation project. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

He added, “It’s part of an ongoing project that we’re trying to figure out. We got this great grant from the state, but the cost of just doing the analysis eats up a majority of the funding. We’re making sure we’re following the right order of events — doing it with the right sort of intent.”

Church officials received $500,000 in funding from the state in December 2018 for the project.

Last summer, architectural consultants began an exterior restoration analysis of the property.

St. Luke’s, built in 1894 with rock-faced Medina sandstone that blends Late Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival elements, is located in the Jamestown Downtown Historic District; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The church was designed by Boston architect W.P. Wentworth. Over the years, the tower has suffered from exterior and interior deterioration that has possibly resulted in water infiltration inside the church.

St. Luke’s received $500,000 in state funding in December 2018 for the preservation project. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

A preservation plan and engineering study in 2018 concluded that the front porch of the church is pulling away from the building. The front stairs are no longer level likely due to the west support wall bulging outward.

Campagna noted the importance of historic preservation efforts.

“Especially in a place like Jamestown where you have this historic district and the community that comes together, the whole downtown district, everyone respects and values the history they have — how beautiful all the buildings are,” she said.