Demolition of shuttered church begins after long battle

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demolition of a 19th-century church in Philadelphia has begun following a yearslong battle by some neighbors to save the crumbling structure. Crews last week surrounded the 140-year-old St. Laurentius Church with scaffolding, fencing and barricades. KYW reported that neighbors gathered Wednesday to get their final look. They took pictures and pointed to a huge cross that was once affixed to the building but now rested against a fence. The church was built in 1882 with the donations of Polish immigrants. The archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2014 announced the church’s closure. It cited cracks and a heavily deteriorated facade that threatened collapse without an expensive restoration.