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I was in the Olde Town area today and took some pictures of the church being demolished at Long Street 17th. Very sad it wasnt able to be saved. In order to keep the historic feel of the neighborhood buildings like this have to stop coming down.
Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion » Development
Historic Church on Long Street Demolished
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anillo
Marzipan City
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What a shame, it looked like a very nice church. Why did it get torn down? I hope (but doubt) they at least saved the top part, seems like you could do something neat with it. And the stained glass. Though I guess if they were going to save that, they'd have taken it out before they started smashing it to bits.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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More:
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/apr/16/century-old_church_may_soon_be_demolished-ar-59691/
http://columbuslandmarks.org/advocacy/centenary-church.php
http://bronzeville.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/klbna-calls-out-2nd-baptist-appeals-to-citys-leaders/
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/04/15/long-street-building.html
Posted 2 years ago # -
jawjack187
Columbus
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The Church was owned by 2nd Baptist Church for many years. It has sat vacant for a while now. It was ordered demolished after having been found structurally unsafe. In my opinion, we should be talking about preserving buildings like this while they sit unused. If you want to preserve it, put the money up to do so, and get to it. Everybody likes to talk about how sad it is to see something like this go, well sympathy for this building 5-10 years ago may have saved it. Money to put it into productive use 1 year ago would have saved it.
Making it useful is very expensive. The alternative to tearing it down is that it sits there, empty, for 10 more years or more, and everybody complains about that. I would have loved to save that place, but the cost is high, and I personally don't have the money.Posted 2 years ago # -
dru
IV
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it looks like Walker beat me to the links, but here is one more:
http://www.myfox28columbus.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/archive/story.shtml?/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/archive/2010/04/ShBkfx8l.xmlbut this was also on the news last night. it is a shame it couldn't be preserved, but the tear down was a legitimate operation.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I don't know much about this specific building, so I don't know what sort of shape it was really in, how much it would have cost to fix up, what sort of re-use it would be good for, or what group/entity/charity/developer would want to pony up the money for it, but I agree with jawjack that bemoaning the loss of a building doesn't really do any good if there is literally zero interest from anyone who wants to dedicate money and resources to re-using the building.
While the neighborhood has lost some buildings, there are still a lot left being fixed up and restored. Part of what I find attractive about this neighborhood is that over the next 20 years it will continue to rebound as a mix of new development and historic development.
Taking a quick look down the street at the historic Lincoln Theatre and the Hamilton Park Condos sitting next to the brand new retail/office Gateway building is a nice mix of old and new. I think the rest of Long Street can continue this trend of blending some historic architecture with purposeful new-build development.
Again, this is just my own personal assessment, and I can't speak for anyone else who lives here, but if I wanted to live in a neighborhood that was locked into a historic time capsule, I would have stayed in German Village. I actually prefer living in a place that is a little more historically diverse.
Posted 2 years ago # -
jawjack187
Columbus
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I do not believe it is the responsibility of the city to act on old/historic buildings. I think the city can and does provide incentives for those private developers to come into neighborhoods like KLD and others and redevelop or build on existing space. I worry about our citizens getting the perception that the "City" is the entity that is responsible for every private property that is vacant/abandoned and needs some help. Ohio is a state founded on the property rights of the individual.
The process for acquisition of private property from a governmental entity takes a long time, and even if the "City" can get a hold of these properties, I don't want my tax dollars going to the City as a large scale developer. Columbus just got federal Neighborhood Stabilization dollars to try and eliminate blight within its boundaries. As soon as the "City' purchased multiple properties, based on the guidelines submitted by the feds, the "City" got into trouble from the press for being the "owners" of blighted property. In many cases, it's a lose-lose.
There are non-profits that specialize in rehabbing properties for productive use, but many of them focus on housing. This Church was built for one purpose-to be a church. Another church would have been the most likely candidate to come in at Centenary and be productive. In fact, the Yeshua is Lord Church that is on the SE Corner of Long and Miami (BEAUTIFUL facility) attempted to purchase Centenary a while back, but in the end, they did not have the resources to do what was needed to stabilize the building and turn it around. In other words, it would have changed hands and still stayed in the same shape.
I think with the developments that we see coming east on Long, you will see someone do something with this property in the very near future. The demolition of this church actually makes the site more attractive for a new development. Sad but true, IMO.
Posted 2 years ago # -
th0m
Beechwold
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I agree with jawjack187. I am steeped in a lot of deluded fictional romantic nostalgia in my sputtering adult ADD brain, but I think the sentiment is important in this case.
Old buildings are sometimes dangerous nasty things. The new development may not be some amazing futuristic carbon-fiber mobius strip tower you can't quite focus on from the shininess, but we'd simply probably have to hunt for a square corner on what was there.
I happen to live in a place from the early 40's, and it is cool and storied. Those stories started somewhere, and that doesn't always have to be the past. I'm sure the place will live on through pictures, and the odd person saying "you know, here there used to be" for some time, but lets get excited about going forward, I think.
Posted 2 years ago # -
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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My aunt is a longtime member of 2nd Baptist Church and she told me the inside story on this some time ago. Apparently their former pastor and the congregation parted ways acrimoniously. Prior to his leaving he made quite a number of questionable purchases that the church wasn't able to afford, most notably Centenary.
The incoming church leadership did their best to sell or even give away the property but there were no takers. The city came down pretty hard on them about the safety issues, and it would have taken an estimated $3 million to renovate it properly.
I think this is a very sad day for the KLD, but the current leadership of Second Baptist is not (as suggested by the link from the BNA) to blame --they inherited an untenable situation.
Posted 2 years ago # -
alexs
Limestone bluffs of the Scioto
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As an example of a different fate - at Griggs Reservoir, there is the "Dam Keeper's House" which is a solid old stone house far older than the dam. I don't know when it was last occupied, or used for anything. Over the years it declined more and more, with holes in the roof and no doors or windows. I photographed it when it was overgrown in brush, for fear that it would soon be demolished.
By pleasant surprise, the City decided to stabilize it. Now the brush is gone, there's a new roof, and it's at least well boarded up and secured. As far as I know, it's just a stone shell inside, maybe it still has floors.
I've asked about its intended future use, and the parks officials haven't had an answer. But I'm glad at least that it wasn't lost, like the cracked stone amphitheatre nearby, which is overgrown and fenced off as a short-term fix.
Here's a gallery from 2004:
Posted 2 years ago # -
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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Reminds me of a church in Philly that they razed for new condos.
It was an old Catholic church so it had a rectory and school and nunnery (place where the nuns stayed, is that the right term?). So it was a very big compound.When it was demolished the Philly Archdiocese sent a priest to oversee the demolition and make sure some of the sacred items where dealt with appropriately. One item that they insisted be saved was the cross and Jesus in the church.
Rumor is (and each telling gets better)they did a poor job. When they were removing the supports on the cross the top came loose prematurely. The cross came off the wall flipping upside down and was shortly thereafter broken in half. The church had a conniption.
The condos buildings built on the ground have had all sorts of problems with equipment breaking (some say in half). The project is only half completed and being such a christian community very few sold.
[disclaimer: Like I said, it gets better with each telling. Most likely the housing market falling in 2008 had more to do with the places not selling. It has grown to Urban Legend mythical status.
However, the developer did admit that the cross was taken down 'incorrectly' and broke in half]It's still a cool urban story.
Philly being one of the oldest places has a LOT. The Eastern State Penitentiary that housed Al Capone and the state mental institution have even better stories.Posted 2 years ago # -
Manatee
The eternal present
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I will say, it's always oddly uncomfortable for me to see the inner sanctum of a church rudely exposed to the exterior elements. A bit like seeing a lady looking dishabille.
Although I suppose by demolition time the whole thing has been "desanctified", and I suppose for the unreligious it's probably not a big deal.
Just something about all the memories and dreams and heartaches of all kinds of people in that space over the years, just residing in that space somehow.
Posted 2 years ago #
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