Former 1st Presbyterian church sold
The second of two buildings where Carnegie Presbyterian Church members once worshipped is set to be sold Jan. 13 to Lanza Medical Supply.
Russell Lanza, owner of the business now located on Greentree Road in Scott, said he's buying the former First Presbyterian Church in order to expand his business.
But there are no plans to tear down the 110-year-old landmark at Washington Avenue and East Main Street.
"That is too beautiful of a church," Lanza said. "It would be a sin for anyone to even think about taking that place down."
The church will be turned into offices, storage and display space for Lanza's medical equipment business, and into a "closed door pharmacy" to prepare and mail out medications for people with respiratory problems, such as asthma and emphysema.
The building also will have about 13,000 square feet for rent as offices.
"We shouldn't have a problem renting out the space," said Lanza, who has been in business for 40 years and also has offices in Erie, Johnstown, DuBois and Uniontown.
"Carnegie is a great place. We have parking in the back and access to Interstate 79 and to the Parkway West. You can go anywhere you need to go."
The impending sale means that Carnegie Presbyterian Church members will begin attending Sunday services this weekend in the structure that in history has housed DeMartino's Restaurant, in what was originally a school building on Washington Avenue.
The First Presbyterian building is being cleaned and prepared for the new owner. The sale had been scheduled for Dec. 30, but was postponed until Jan. 13; the sale price isn't being disclosed.
The Carnegie Presbyterian congregation formed in 2000, from the former Christ United and First Presbyterian churches.
Church officials desanctified the Christ United building and sold it in June to Stanley Klos for a historical museum, and they desanctified the First Presbyterian building on Dec. 22.
Klos opened his museum — called Skibo Castle, after Andrew Carnegie's home in Scotland — in September.
This week, he said he'll soon display more than 1,000 historical documents there. The museum now hosts only private tours, but eventually will cater to corporate meetings and school field trips.
Klos assembles collections of documents and other artifacts for corporations. He said he'll open Skibo Castle to the public when he secures a restaurateur for the building.
"It's a little disappointing. The economy is not too strong," he said. "Getting people to take a risk is a little harder than I thought."
CO2 Advertising and Renaissance Gallery also lease space in Skibo Castle.
