WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Church officials and preservationists are trying to figure out what happened to several 1.5-ton gargoyles from a Massachusetts church.

The church in Worcester (WUS’-tur) is a one-fifth scale replica of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It was built in the 1890s and was formerly known as the Chestnut Street Congregational Church. It now is owned by an Assembly of God congregation and is on the market for $2.5 million.

The crumbling building was slated for demolition a decade ago but was saved with the help of Preservation Worcester.

The group’s director tells The Telegram & Gazette (http://bit.ly/1CS7mbb ) the 3,000-pound gargoyles were removed for safety reasons by a construction company that went out of business. The company’s assets were sold at auction, and the fear is the gargoyles were sold.

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com

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