Bell tower quiet for now

The bell tower at Laguna Presbyterian Church won’t be chiming the hours or playing music for a long time.

The landmark bell tower cupola was removed from the church shortly after noon Wednesday. A small crowd watched as a crane carefully lifted the wooden structure from its perch atop the church sanctuary and swung it to the ground below.

The church is undergoing a restoration and renovation project, costing $11.3 million. The project includes rebuilding and restoring the 80-year-old building from the foundation to the roof, restoring the sanctuary and the lower level youth center, and bringing the building into compliance with seismic and code requirements.

The bell tower was removed after steel reinforcing beams were in place on all four corners of the tower structure. The bell tower will be rebuilt. The carillon sound system has been moved to another location in the interim, and plans call for the tower’s original bell to be installed in the new tower, said Rick Hume of the church. The project is expected to be completed by June.

For more information, call Hume at (949) 494-7555.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or [email protected].