VIDEO: After a devastating fire burned a historic church in Tacony, officials had to knock down the remains of the building for safety reasons.
Dozens of neighbors looked on as a contractor took a wrecking ball to St. Leo The Great Roman Catholic Church on Keystone Street and Unruh Avenue on Monday, many of them saying goodbye to a church that has hosted generations of their families.
The fire left a freestanding wall facing Keystone Street, which the fire marshal said posed an imminent danger to the neighborhood and prevented investigators from getting inside to try and determine the fire's cause.
"Pretty heartbroken to see this. This is like part of my life, part of my history and it's gone," said Michael Riley, who has lived in the neighborhood for decades and graduated from St. Leo's.
"I turned around, I could see the sadness in people's eyes and people filling up with sadness," said Councilman Bobby Henon.