Steeple of iconic Duluth church comes down after lightning strike

After it was struck by lightning earlier this week, the steeple of an iconic Duluth church is coming down.

Crews worked at Hope City Church from 7:00am to 3:00pm Wednesday to make it happen.

The process itself was pretty extensive—sawing pieces of the steeple off one by one, then throwing them into a bucket in the air.

Rick Havron, who lives a couple blocks away, witnessed the lightning strike that caused the damage.

“There was this huge flash—just bright and loud. It sounded like something exploded,” Havron said.

Havron added that he was sad to see the steeple go after all these years.

“This church is probably one of my favorite churches in the city of Duluth. As a child, I used to come hangout and play on the stairs. It’s really sad to see this happen. It really is,” Havron said.

Crews plan to continue theirwork through the week, which means the current road closures will remain in place for now.