Former Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensburg now home to couple, artworks

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At first glance, the former red brick church nestled in the heart of the Greensburg Hilltop neighborhood nods to the parish that once called it home, with its steeple adorned by a stone cross and green and purple stained glass windows.

Attention is quickly drawn, however, to large, paper mache sculptures framing the front door. Among those are bugs, a motorcycle, a musician and a dragon. On the side of the building, an orange leopard spotted with black dots lounges from a tree. Inside, more sculptures hang from the walls.

Located at the intersection of Highland and Tremont avenues, the former Our Lady of Grace church is now home to Joanna Moyar and Brian McCall, a local artist.

“I started doing a lot of sculpture, and what do you do with sculpture? You put it out somewhere so people can see it,” McCall said.

Moyar and McCall first purchased the structure in 1993 after it had sat empty for several years.

The couple converted it into their home, taking the open floor plan and adding two bedrooms onto the first floor. The kitchen sits where the altar was located. Original wood floors line the living space of the home, leading to stairs for the loft. McCall converted the basement into his studio space, filled with more sculptures.

“When we bought it, it was all empty and falling apart,” McCall said, remembering a hole that was in the ceiling.

The church was founded on Feb. 23, 1910 when Father Nicola Albanese was authorized to form a parish in Greensburg for Italian immigrants. According to the church’s 50th anniversary commemorative book published in 1960, Albanese saw a need for the church as Italians continued coming to America, largely forming the Hilltop neighborhood.

After spending three years organizing the parish, Albanese rented a small storeroom located at the intersection of Highland and Tremont avenues.

By 1916, a new frame church was constructed. Albanese in 1928 purchased the parish house that adjoins the former church today.

More improvements were made in 1939, when the church was remodeled with brick facing.

Our Lady of Grace continued to grow over the years, and by 1960 a larger church was constructed near its current location on Mount Pleasant Road. It was dedicated in 1964.

It didn’t take long for the church’s current location to be constructed. It was dedicated in 1999.

The former building along Mount Pleasant Road was converted into Albanese Hall, which is used by the church for social activities and religious education.

After the parish moved to its new location, the former church now owned by Moyar and McCall changed hands several times and was used as a karate studio and daycare.

While no longer used as a religious institution, the structure remains a focal point of the neighborhood, not only for its towering steeple but for its artful owners.

“I always wanted something like this, either a factory or a church. … This is where I’ve been working since,” McCall said.