Workers start on the renovation of the Shanghai Moore Memorial Church yesterday. The church, built in 1929, needs work because of severe structural damage.

The Shanghai Moore Memorial Church in Huangpu District will be closed for renovations until September, officials said yesterday.

Built in 1929, the church on Xizang Road M. has not had any major work done on it since the early 1980s.

The building has suffered structural damage because of subsidence from the construction of the many skyscrapers surrounding it and metro lines beneath it.

Several cracks can be seen in the beams and walls. The basement is still flooded from pipes that were broken due to the subsidence. "We planned to mend it as early as 2003," said Zhang Gang, office director of the church. "The time is right as Metro Line 8 and major construction projects in People's Square have been finished."

The church plans to spend 5 million yuan (US$731,443) on the work, including construction to reinforce the building, new electrical wiring and plumbing, air-conditioning and fire protection.

"Summer heat is difficult to endure in the church," said Zhang. "We did not dare to install air-conditioners before because of the old wiring."

Audio and multimedia equipment will be installed.

"Great efforts will be made to preserve the church's original feature," said an official surnamed Tian from the nationality and religion department of Huangpu District government. The restorers will refer to old pictures of the brick and wood structure as well as historical records.