But the church building on South 13th Street is empty, and worshipers now attend Mass at the new Holy Trinity Parish on Sixth Avenue North.

Sacred Heart may be empty, but it is not forgotten. A team of volunteers from Holy Trinity Parish and the Fort Dodge Historic Preservation Commission is now seeking ways to bring new uses and new life to the century-old building.

“Our hope is to find a use in line with the church’s vision to serve the community,” Meg Beshey, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, told the City Council Monday evening.

The team also hopes to get the building added to the National Register of Historic Places.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Two grants have been awarded to pay for a structural assessment of the Coppin Chapel AME Church on First Avenue South. The structure was built in 1894.

“If you’re going to preserve the building, you want to get it on the National Register because that’s where all the funding comes from,” said Carissa Harvey, the city’s strategic planner.

Sacred Heart was designed by architect William Steele in the Romanesque style. It was completed in 1921.

“No matter what, I hope we can preserve the building,” Councilman Terry Moehnke said.

Councilman Kim Alstott described the church as “really a monument in Fort Dodge.”

Sacred Heart is not the only venerable house of worship the commission is working on.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
A stone in the front wall of Sacred Heart Catholic Church on South 13th Street displays the date the church was completed.

Coppin Chapel AME Church on First Avenue South was built in 1894 as St. Olaf Norwegian Lutheran Church. It became an AME church in 1919.

Two grants have been awarded to pay for a professional assessment of the building and a plan for its rehabilitation. The State Historic Preservation Office awarded a grant of $12,084, while the Catherine Vincent Deardorf Charitable Foundation awarded a grant of $3,000.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea A communion chalice and wafer are depicted on a stained glass window adorning a parish building behind the old Sacred Heart Catholic Church.