TOWER - A 127-year-old piece of Vermilion Range history soon will be rolling down Main Street to start a new life.

The former St. Mary's Episcopal Church, a Victorian era structure built in 1888, is being moved from its longtime location in Tower to a prime piece of downtown real estate.

The historic church will then be renovated into the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center (LVCC).

When complete, the cultural center will be a showcase for arts, music, history, and other quality of life activities.

"It will be a cultural facility that will represent the heritage of northeastern Minnesota," said Tom Sersha, president of the LVCC board. "Not only will it enhance the quality of life for people here, but for tourists who come here seasonally."

This month, house movers will lift the church off its rugged wooden beam foundation and transport the church down Main Street approximately six blocks to its new resting place. A new concrete foundation for the building is already in place across from the Tower Depot and the city's Train Museum.

Along with development of the Tower Harbor, the cultural center will become a culture and tourism asset to the city, surrounding area, and an attraction for hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the Lake Vermilion area and drive through Tower each year, say LVCC members.

The building, gifted to LVCC by the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, is said to be the oldest structure in Tower and one of the oldest remaining buildings north of Duluth.

"The minute I saw the church, I thought 'we cannot not save this'," said Mary Batinich, chairman of the LVCC board. "It's too precious."

The project has received strong support from private and public contributors.

Since 2011, LVCC has held an annual Midsummer cultural celebration which has helped raise funds for the project.

To date, the non-profit LVCC board has raised $300,000 for the move and renovation.

Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board has provided support for the project.

It could cost about $1 million to fully complete the project, said Sersha.

"You can't save every building on the Iron Range," said Sersha. "But every community has a building worth saving, and this is one of the oldest buildings on the Vermilion Range. It's an old structure, but with its simplistic look, it has beauty."

The project includes restoration of the church's 17 stain glass windows, a new roof, new siding, elevator, and construction of an addition.

Inside, the cultural center will offer space to house programs in the arts, health care, senior citizen activities, crafts, and educational programs. It will also be able to host weddings, community gatherings, plays, and social events.

With relocation of the building, LVCC will this fall construct a nearby carriage house which will serve as a storage facility.

Plans are to have the cultural center open to the public in late summer 2016.

"After all these years of planning, this is a big deal to get it moved," said Sersha.

To learn more about LVCC, visit http://vermilionculturalcenter.org/

Pictured above: LVCC board members Tom Sersha, Louise Gately and Mary Batinich are anxious for the move of the former St. Mary's Church to a site in downtown Tower where the building will be renovated into the LVCC.