copper-lined time capsule extracted from park view church's school during its demolition

i was already stressed and exhausted from pulling the last of the zettler-signed "munich" style windows from the park view lutheran church's interior (1929) , when i was forced to pause for an hour as a wrecking machine nearby began pulling down the facade of the neighboring school, constructed in 1970.

like the church, the school's entrance contained a cornerstone that i had been keeping an eye on since i began this arduous salvage last week. i quickly gathered my cameras and other equipment and made my way over to what remained of the entrance, where the dated cornerstone was located.

the wrecking machine was idling after having pulled apart the last wall. when the dust settled, i deemed it safe to move forward and made my way to the fully exposed stone, armed with chisels and hammer.

the scattered debris around the stone was soon cleared, and i identified the outline of a cavity. i was certain all along that a time capsule would be found. sure enough, demolition revealed the cavity, partially sealed by a neatly cut stone slab or "cap" containing two deeply dimpled impressions designed for fingers to lift the lid and expose the capsule concealed within.

upon opening, i carefully extracted a heavily reinforced and surprisingly heavy rectangular "capsule" or box that exhibited surface oxidation consistent with its age and time in the "elements."  the heavy gauge metal box was pressed and folded into shape with a sliding lid that further protected its neatly placed contents. inside i discovered several well-preserved articles, including rolls of inked signatures, booklets, black and white and color photographs, hand-written letters, and a miniature bible. there were several newspaper clippings tucked between documents that mentioned the cornerstone laying ceremony.

note: yet again, i was stuck in a rather inconvenient predicament, where i was coerced to open the box onsite, since the wrecking machine operator was convinced the box contained "gold." in these circumstances it's very challenging to bite my lip and "play along," but once it was revealed that the treasure was not so flashy, the operator immediately lost interest and i was free to walk with the capsule and its contents unharmed. 

back in my studio i spent the evening pouring over every detail of the stone, capsule, and the individual contents. all of it has been meticulously documented, reflecting the care with which the items were originally placed. my method or protocol for extracting and recording these capsules has been honed with the discovery of several other church building capsules that were considerably older (dating to 1887, 1889, 1893, and 1913 respectively). these were all successfully extracted from churches throughout 2016.

the time capsule from the neighboring church (currently under demolition) will be removed and documented in the coming week or two.