If you visit Watervliet, you will hear more than once how much of it has been buried.
The construction of Interstate 787 took a large swath of it and, well before that, roads covered over the Erie Canal.
Hacked and sliced, Watervliet history has not even been left a decent scar to show what it was.
The entire region for weeks had been on a death watch as St. Patrick's Church was demolished. At last, only the tower stood, as if the developer, Nigro Companies, and Price Chopper were saving the best for last.
This time, Watervliet got a bell and a cross, dutifully removed by the demolition crew. What was likely conceived as a thoughtful gift could also be perceived as patronizing and stingy.
There was a lot of hand-wringing around the question, "What are we going to do with the building?"
But the city administration and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany never truly considered the question. Not even the best of planners and developers could fully answer that question just one short year after the church closed.
And now, in disbelief, we stare at this godsend.
Michael Lopez
Troy