In Cleveland Heights, they are doing a very nice residential project with an old church.  The church will be turned into condos and townhomes will be added on the old surface lot.  Look at http://www.progressiveurban.com and then click on the picture of the church for details.

^ They did a similar church-to-residence project in Dayton's Oregon District.  It's really not that rare.

 

It wouldn't make much sense for this particular church's location, however.

I'd sell my soul to buy a church.

Oakland Presbyterian Church in Middletown was converted into apartments.  Built in 1893, it's style is both Queen Anne and Gothic.  The building is constructed of light brown brick.  There is also an octangonal bell tower also (bell has since been relocated).

 

The church isn't located in the best area of town in the Oakland area near the old high school (now Vail Middle School).  It has been a while since I've been in that area, so I cannot speak of its current condition.  Here is a picture of the building from the county auditor's web site (sorry about the quality).

 

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/Q6541002000098-1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

 

One of the best reuses of a church I've seen was in Altanta where someone turned an old church into one of the city's top restaurants The Abbey...complete with a restored pipe organ.  Its a very cool place 

 

A little off topic, but a local resident purchased a historic Italianate-Romaneque firehouse on Crawford St. built in 1987 for $5,000 and turned it into two upscale apartments.  It is a 2 1/2-story building.  A pic is below follows:

 

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y265/mdb751/Q6541003000121-1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

Came across a newer picture of the church turned apartments .  . .

 

Hey all,

 

I'm interested in writing an article on the preservation of old churches in the Cincinnati area. Anybody know of any off the top of your head that have been preserved in nontraditional ways for public or private use? I am also interested in churches that have fallen into disrepair and need rescuing.

 

Any tips? So far I know of these:

 

St. Elizabeth's in Norwood, now owned/used by Vineyard Central (my church) but in disrepair

Third Protestant Memorial Church, bought by Urban Outfitters

Old Saint George (not sure what's going on with the building currently)

Verdin Bell Event Center in Pendleton (formerly St. Paul's Church)

 

I heard about an old church near Washington Park that's in disrepair and not being used. Anybody know anything about this one?

 

^Johannes Evangelisch Kirche, ca 1850 at the southwest corner of Race and 15th Street.  Oldest Protestant church in the city.  Under city ownership, but in dire condition, and no one knows what to do with it.  I have more info on it, such as drawings and history if you want to investigate possible uses.

 

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/01/10/paul_371x550.jpg

Can't help you with Cincy, but Cleveland has seen several churches converted into arts-related space. Most notably:

 

- St. Josaphat Church, its rectory and nunnery has been converted into the stunning Josaphat Arts Hall (http://www.josaphatartshall.com).

- Old Red Church was converted into Kathy Skerritt Studio (http://www.kathyskerritt.com/index.htm).

- A church on Church Street was converted into the Gallery of Photographic Arts (http://www.gopacleveland.org/), which subsequently folded. It now is a private residence.

- Parish Hall (http://www.millerweitzelgallery.com/Information.htm), an outbuilding adjacent to the church, serves as a gallery and live music venue in the city's Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.

 

I would love to see your research when you're done ... I find this topic really fascinating.

Here is a list from the Cleveland Restoration Society - numbers 1, 2, 4, and 6 should be of interest:

 

http://www.clevelandrestoration.org/PreservationAwards/currentawards.htm

 

  I saw an interior photo of an old building that was converted into a climbing gym. I don't know the location. The cathedral ceiling made a good overhanging climbing wall, and the stained glass window on the end wall was preserved. That's one of the more unique building conversions that I am aware of, although there isn't that much of a market for climbing gyms.

 

  Typically, aren't old churches vacant because the neighborhoods have declined? If that's the case, it might be hard to find any economical conversion.

 

  I know of a really small one - a pioneer chapel - that is preserved and used only for a wedding or two each year.

^^^^Cincinnati didn't have a Protestant congregation until the 1850's? That seems impossible with all those Germans, even Hamilton could beat that by almost 60 years.

 

 

BTW, somewhere there is already a similar thread on this topic because I brought up an old church in Middletown that was turned into apartments.

The old Oakland Presbyterian Church in Middletown (on the outskirts of downtown) built in the late 1890s has been converted into apartments:

 

The climbing gym church is in Dayton - Urban Krag - in the Oregon District.

From the architects: http://www.rbaoh.com/krag.html

 

Also in the Oregon District, a church was renovated for condos call The Church Lofts I can't find pictures.  Same architect as Urban Krag.  Might be pictures in an Oregon District thread.

^^^^Cincinnati didn't have a Protestant congregation until the 1850's? That seems impossible with all those Germans, even Hamilton could beat that by almost 60 years.

Clarification:

Oldest protestant church building still standing.  Old St. Mary's Catholic on 13th is the oldest, just a few years older.

^Johannes Evangelisch Kirche, ca 1850 at the southwest corner of Race and 15th Street.  Oldest Protestant church in the city.  Under city ownership, but in dire condition, and no one knows what to do with it.   I have more info on it, such as drawings and history if you want to investigate possible uses.

 

                                                                                                                                                              I think you may have meant  St. Pauls German Evangelical Church.  Deutsche Evangelische Paulus Kirche.  Johannes is on 12th and Elm

^Sorry.  Yeah, that's another vacant one.

This is in Northside on Delaney or Cherry or something

I have no idea what it is being used for now.

A church on Chase was bought & was going to be used as a home/studio but appears to have been sold/rented to another church.

Then, of course, there are the storefront churches that I find fascinating. :-)

This is a great idea, I know of 2 that I drive by every day on my way home from work.  One is on River Road, just west of the Waldvogle Vidaduct.  It looks like it was bought about a year ago, they did some exterior painting and boarded up a few of the broken out windows, but is now back on the market by Sibsy Cline.  I've looked on the MLS, unsuccessfully, for more info.

 

Another is the old Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Stiner St. in Sedamsville.  An old Catholic church, it was decommissioned in the '70s and has sat vacant ever since.  I do believe, though, that someone bought it shortly after its decommissioning and is doing minor repars to keep it standing, in hopes that someone will come along and convert it for better use.

Thanks, everyone! This helps a lot. :)

Maria, what exactly are you proposing? Are you simply writing an article,trying to raise awareness? Or planning an actual intervention/rescue of a church?  I've often imagined an otr landscape with the steeples/spires of all the churches restored to their former glory and sporting spectacular new lighting. MAN!!! WHAT A SIGHT THAT WOULD BE!! Just a dream of mine, sigh.... maybe one day.  Anyway, good luck to you.

I obviously can't save them all, so I'm mainly focused on helping save my own crumbling church, St. Elizabeth's. But I'd like to be part of raising awareness, so I was thinking of spotlighting different churches that need help for a faith-based, Cincinnati-focused literary journal I'm hoping to be part of. It breaks my heart to see these beautiful resources neglected and forgotten.

The Bell Event Center is very cool.. A good friend had her wedding & reception there a couple years ago and it struck me and several other fellow Clevelanders as mucho classy.. I vaguely remember barely resisting the urge to ring some giant bells or gongs or something that were about.

 

When I contacted her to ask the name of the place she also mentioned she thinks Old St. George is becoming another Urban Outfitters I think.

Oh, there is The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh.  (http://www.churchbrew.com/)  On our last trip to Pittsburgh we ate there and it was pretty crowded.

Quimbob - that church is owned by dear friends of mine - the folks who built stained glass windows for us, among a hundred other projects.  They're artists, they live on the lower level and have their studio in the upper level.  Here's Rich, installing one of our windows:

 

http://www.pbase.com/reh/image/58803846.jpg

 

 

...he does everything, from sewer lines to electric to plumbing to tattooing to stained glass to master carpentry...his wife Niki is a fantastic painter, designer, etc.  Wonderful eye...the two of them are the most amazing couple I know...

 

The church is an old German church of some sort, then it was used by the VFW for years.  The first thing Rich did when they bought the place was repair the steeple...the whole support structure was rotting out...he sistered boards up to other boards, replaced, repaired, worked his way up, doing it on scaffolding all by himself, over a couple years.  The most amazing part of it was that he said he spent $1200 just on bolts.  I mean, holy crap!

 

They've really saved that building.  The whole thing was falling apart - part of the steeple had actually fallen off.  The roof was in disrepair, the floor, the heating system, the ceilings, etc., etc.  These folks are part of what makes Northside so great, and it's definitely an honor to know them...

 

Oh, and regarding uses of old churches, while this is non-ideal, it's probably fairly unique - the steeple on the old Walnut Hills Presbyterian Church was saved when the rest of the church was torn down:

 

http://www.mullerarchitects.com/cpa/projects/initiative_first_pres_church.html

 

^A constant reminder of the trajedy that occured...what a great idea! :roll:

I have to admit I haven't been down Euclid Ave in several years, but isn't there a church tower all by itself near Church Square at E. 79th - never did know the history behind that, but I always thought it kind of odd to call something Church Square and demolish the church it's named for.  I assume the rest of the building burned down?

 

From nky.com . . .

 

Churches' second life: Homes

BY AMY HOWELL | [email protected]

Buyers seeking a unique home could be the saving grace for 24 churches for sale in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

 

Photo Galleries: http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=AB&Dato=20070201&Kategori=NEWS0103&Lopenr=702010805&Ref=PH

We are blessed with a lot of beautiful, well built, old churches in Cleveland and Ohio, so how about a thread to showcase innovative re-use of churches with examples from across the country and around the world?

Here are a few to start.

 

A Dominican Church in Maastricht, Netherlands is re-purposed as a bookstore.

http://www.dezeen.com/2007/12/04/a-shop-in-a-church-by-merkx-girod-architecten/

 

 

A bit more radical, though closer to home is UrbanKrag rock climbing gym in Dayton's Oregon District.  This is something I would be most enthused to see in dwntwn CLV or nearby neighborhoods!

http://www.urbankrag.com/

 

 

 

 

 

The bookstore, the rock climbing... that's all nice, but my favorite (so far) is the Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh:

 

http://www.churchbrew.com/

 

The sad part is that it bears a striking resemblance to St. Agnes in Cleveland (now demolished), albeit on a smaller scale:

 

 

And as it should be, the brewing vats are behind the pulpit! :drunk:

I once saw photos of a church that had been let go to the point of losing its roof. The people of the neighborhood reinforced three walls and turned it into a garden. I'll try to find the pics.

The Library idea I really like, but I would think that some adaptive reuses would be seen as disrepectful to former worshipers. The church where my wife and I were married in 2000 is now a nightclub which doesn't really bother me, but my mother in law, who attended there for years is greatly offended by the new use of the building.

Wow, awesome photos, Guv and MayDay!  Lord knows there have been plenty of residential conversions of churches (including in Cleveland), but those commercial uses are awesome.  It's great to leave the nave intact and accessible to the public.  I've never been in Josaphat Arts Hall, but seems like it should be in this thread too: http://www.josaphatartshall.com/introduction/renovation.php/

^^Most churches that are put into different uses have their own people "deconsecrate" it before the sale. And with due respect, people need to get over themselves - if they want to keep the building from being demolished or "sullied" by a re-use they don't approve of - they should buy the d@mn thing themselves. It reminds me of the knucklehead from Fairview Park who wrote in to the Plain Dealer to b!tch about an abandoned church in Cleveland's Edgewater neighborhood being converted into a Borders-style bookstore - mind you, they admitted they hadn't set foot in it for years or much less driven by it, but god forbid (pun very much intended) that someone else have better stewardship than the former flock.

 

And yes, Josaphat Arts Hall/Convivium33 Gallery is an amazing space and a wonderful example.

I saw this in the Southside neighborhood in Pittsburgh.

 

Cincinnati's Urban Outfitters used to be the Third Protestant Memorial Church:

 

With the Catholic Diocese in Cleveland "downsizing" there will be a number of parishes forced to close their churches so lots of this potential in the near future. St. Steven's on the near west side is one parish that is closing down and their church is one of the best I've ever seen.

^Has that been officially decided? I know they came up with the list of recommendations but I hadn't heard official declarations.

^^That's the church on West 54th?  Wow. The interior is one of the city's most architecturally significant (or so I've read).  Bummer.

I'm nearly positive that it has been finalized and all the parish "combinations" have been declared. I'll see if I can track down some evidence of this.

I did speak a bit too soon as I had confused myself on the timeline.

Apparently all parishes were asked to work in "clusters" and have reorganization plans proposed to the Bishop (and Committe) by mid-December. The Bishop is expected to announce the final approved cluster plans in March 2009.

The reason I thought is was finalized is that the cluster I "belong to" includes Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Sagrada Familia, St. Colman, St. Stephen and St. Procop, with OLMC being the most "active" so parishoners were assured we were "safe." From that news, I remember someone saying that St. Stephen's would be closing, but their parishoners are lobbying to have the church identified as a historical landmark in order to preserve it.

I'm glad this church re-use thread got "resurrected" (so to speak)!  Interesting examples. 

 

Here's one from downtown Columbus: The former First Baptist Church at 583 E. Broad Street.  The church had a declining membership, sold it around 4 years ago and moved to a more suburban location.  They sold it to a group that renovated it as The Bar of Modern Art or BoMA. (http://www.barofmodernart.com)

 

Below are some photos from the Franklin County Auditor website that show it back in 2002 and now in 2008.  The exterior of the building is virtually unchanged.  Part of the front lawn was converted to an outdoor patio.  The major work was done to the interior (which unfortunately I don't have any photos of).  All of the great architectural detail was saved (stained glass, wood carvings, etc.), but the former sanctuary/worship space was converted into a dance floor/bar/restaurant space.

 

 

I enjoyed the Limelight in NYC when it was open.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limelight

"However, part of me just can't help but be saddened that buildings once considered so sacred are now places where people buy overpriced jeans and drink beer."

 

What I find far more saddening is that those who once considered those buildings sacred, found them disposable enough to leave in the first place. I find it difficult to comprehend that any "god" (of any denomination) would approve of such wasteful disregard and neglect (not to mention the waste of resources all so everyone can have a bland, characterless church five minutes down the road).

I love the Urban Outfitters reuse in Clifton.  Can't say that I shop there, but I really like the completely intact shell of the original building.  I like that approach much better than something like TUC on UC's campus.  I also really like the light fixtures that they have inside (made of flourescent tubes hung vertically instead of horizontally -- you can see it in ink's photo above).  I hope something at least as good is done to the Old St. George.

I wonder how many of these churches were abandoned for EIFS megachurches.

I enjoyed the Limelight in NYC when it was open.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limelight

 

That place went from Sacred to Sodomy.

I'm glad to see these buildings being used, I really am. However, part of me just can't help but be saddened that buildings once considered so sacred are now places where people buy overpriced jeans and drink beer. In the end, though, I must definitely say I'd rather see a church re-used in such a manner as opposed to just decaying. A run down, neglected, abandoned church is just such a miserable site to see.

 

The church is not a building, but a people. ;)

Old churches provide development options, but hassles, costs abound

Business First of Columbus - by Paul E. Kostyu

Friday, February 6, 2009

 

It takes Joe Armeni and Amy Salerno until at least Valentine’s Day to put away their Christmas decorations.  That’s because Armeni, a real estate developer, and Salerno, a Franklin County municipal judge, have five spiral staircases and more than 9,000 square feet to decorate in their home.  They live in a church, more accurately, a former church in the Short North neighborhood of Columbus.

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/02/09/focus2.html