New photo book highlights Guelph's historic downtown churches

A new book is taking a close look at the legacy of downtown Guelph's historic stone churches.

The Stone Churches of Downtown Guelphfocuses in onseven of the city's historic churches. Author Robert White says there used to be more like them.

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"As congregations age [and] people move more to the outskirts of a community, it's becoming more and more challenging for those downtown churches to remain," he toldThe Morning Edition's Craig Norris.

White, a photographer and journalist, started taking pictures of the buildings as a personal project. but soon sawan opportunityto preserve their legacy.

He said the architecture of the buildings much of it done by handin the early 20th century is becoming increasingly hard to maintain.

"It's more and more difficult to find people who can do the work," he said.

As if to prove his point, he noted that the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate has been in the midst of renovations for years, and that they had to bring in someone from Michigan to restore their organ.

Whitesays high maintenance costs and low congregation numbers could make the coming years hard for these churches.

"I think the biggest challengeis for the congregations to be able to continue to draw people in," he said.

He will launchThe Stone Churches of DowntownGuelphon Oct. 28 at St. Andrew's Church in Guelph.