City's historic commission to host Church tour in park district

FORT MADISON - The Fort Madison Historic Preservation Commission will be hosting a historic holiday tour of churches in Fort Madison’s Park-to-Park District on Sunday, December 29, 2024.
The event is scheduled from 1 pm – 3 pm and allows visitors to visit each church on their own to view the architecture and holiday decorations of the season. A guide for each church in the Park-to-Park District will be available at each participating church. 
The Ss. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church in the district will be the only church unavailable for the event.
At Monday's meeting of the HPC, commissioners outlined the event and said the catholic church wouldn't be available.
“They are going to be fixing both catholic churches. They both need repair, but St. Mary’s is the worst of the two and they are starting with Sacred Heart and they will be starting with a new roof.  St. Mary’s will be repaired down the road,” said Commissioner Dianna Holmes.
“So due to storm damage, St. Mary’s is unavailable for touring or viewing at this time. “
City Manager Laura Liegios said the tour isn’t affiliated with any one religion.
“This is not about religious preference. It’s just that they are historic churches in the historic part of our district. This is away from any religious aspect,” she said.
“This is just an opportunity for visitors to see what the inside looks like.”

The group will be printing flyers with information that will be made available to people taking the tours on Dec. 29. The flyers will be available at the local churches.
Members of the Historic Preservation Commission will be on hand at the churches during the tour to meet with visitors, but church officials will be handling tours.
Church’s participating in the event include:
• First Christian Church, 608 10th Street
• Fort Madison Methodist Church, 510 9th Street
• St. John Evangelical and Reformed Church, 501 10th Street
• St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 605 Avenue E
• Union Presbyterian Church, 719 Avenue F
The commission also discussed possible future signage for the Santa Fe Historical district after work on that stretch of former Hwy. 61 is completed.