DANVILLE -- For generations, their steeples have anchored the backdrop of downtown Danville. Now, because of the unforgiving passage of time, three churches in the borough are in the midst of expansive and expensive renovations.

The churches, all within a few blocks of each other, are doing tower, steeple and porch improvements at costs approaching $100,000 or more. A fourth church has created a community park. It's just coincidence the work is going on at the same time, according to pastors, who said the projects are necessary to prolong the life of the buildings and steeples.

"These outdoor projects need to be done in late spring and summer when the weather is good," said the Rev. Judson Bennett, pastor of Mahoning Presbyterian Church at Ferry and East Mahoning streets.

Christ Memorial Episcopal Church expects a large project to be completed this summer. Pine Street Lutheran Church recently built a community park and plans to tear down a home to eventually make way for more parking. Trinity Lutheran Church's bell tower and steeple is undergoing work, and Mahoning Presbyterian Church has finished a tower project and soon will start a porch replacement and painting job.

With Christ Memorial Episcopal, its tower had to be structurally shored up with steel beams. "It was in danger of being structurally unsound and collapsing," the Rev. Dennis Berk, pastor, said. "Part of it was braced and capped. It was open and had a flat roof and now has a pitched roof so the weather doesn't get into it like it used to."

A new feature was added to the tower project as well. Bells now chime at noon and 6 p.m. and a hymn also plays.

The Erie-based contractor, Fiske and Sons, continues to work on the project, which began in 2007. Employees are repointing and regrouting the masonry on the light-colored stone church. They also have sandblasted the walls to remove years of discoloration.

Pine Street Lutheran Church, at 407 Pine St., tore down a house and replaced it with a community park at Pine and Lower Mulberry streets. "We bought the house some time ago and last year demolished it," the Rev. L. Keith Pittsnogle said. The park contains three trees, a gazebo and benches with flowers to be added. "My office is along the street, and I see a lot of people walking back and forth. This will provide a place for them to sit down and rest," he said.

Many parishioners provided money for the plants and benches. The park was finished recently with slate retained from the house. "We've used it to make a path from the sidewalk to the gazebo," he said.

The church has also purchased another property and expects to demolish it this summer. "We don't have definite plans but think eventually we will add more parking along that back alley. In the interim, and since times are the way they are, we may decide to plant a garden to benefit the community," he said.

The project at Trinity Lutheran Church, 215 E. Market St., is a structural necessity, said the Rev. Michael Greenauer. The church, built in 1863, had a spiral steeple more than 100 feet tall that blew off during a strong storm shortly after it was built. In 1927, 10 feet was added to the church front.

"The church also put up a bell tower and steeple at that time. We found out last year that there was a gap between the outer and inner brick facing and water was entering and freezing and thawing. We had to do repairs on the steeple and have it redesigned so it wouldn't happen again," he said.

Fiske and Sons, who also is doing the Christ Memorial project and work on the Thomas Beaver Free Library, has the contract. The company had to special order brick for the outside and especially for the right-angle pieces so the varied four-color pattern could be matched. They also are replacing the concrete in the steeple with granite so it lasts longer.

The church plans to hold a dedication ceremony for the project, complete with a gold cross on the steeple, July 20.

Bennett said his church, at 106 E. Mahoning St., has finished its three-year tower repair project at a cost of $110,000. Next, the church, built in 1853, will have the front porch replaced. "The floor is safe, but the edges are beginning to get a little soft and the whole west side of the porch will be painted," he said. Doolittle Construction, which did the building's tower project a few years ago, expects to begin the project soon. It could take up to a month to complete.