Renaud Bros were out with Valley Crane this morning, carefully removing the cross from the top of the damaged steeple. Main Street and sidewalks were closed from High Street to Wells Fountain.
With the Brattleboro Fire Department and Police looking out for the safety of individuals in the area, the crane was used to lower the estimated 3,000 pound stone carving from the top of The Church. It held together until about a foot from its destination, where a small block suddenly decided to break free.
The cross now sits on the corner of Main and Grove, and damage is visible to the steeple. Stonework litters the lawn.
Despite the storm coming at the height of a summer Gallery Walk, there were no reports of injuries and no cars were hit by falling stones.
I overheard people saying that the owner plans to rebuild and get the cross back up there. I also ran into local stone masons who were eyeballing the situation.
Getting around that area (the Post Office and banks...) is a bit difficult but not impossible. Detours are causing people to take some interesting back ways to get where they are going.
It looked like (at noon) that there would be a bit more cleanup, but that the work was essentially over and traffic patterns should return to normal later today.