My Old Home-Town Church is Up For Sale

[MineralMan]

When I was a kid, and through high school, I attended a big First Presbyterian Church. I left in 1963, and shortly became an atheist. That church has changed its names a number of times, and changed its denomination each time. The first time, it was due to a rift with the Presbyterian Church USA, over female pastors or something. It became just a Bible Church. Then, it went on to become several other denominations.



Now the property is for sale.

http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/461-Central-Ave-Fillmore-CA/7380703/

I wonder what will happen to it next...

[wasupaloopa]

1. Check out the movie All Saints. It is a true

story about a church up for sale

[riversedge]

2. Looks like a beautiful building. Maybe it will we a community building.

[MineralMan]

5. It's a pretty large complex, actually.

Last edited Sat Apr 21, 2018, 01:08 PM - Edit history (1)

There are classroom buildings and many other amenities that have been added. The main building is quite attractive, and it's sort of the centerpiece of that town. However, it's a drafty old place, very difficult to heat and cool, and no doubt needs considerable maintenance work.

It has a major pipe organ in it, but that's not mentioned in the brochure, so I expect that it has fallen into disrepair. I worked as an unpaid intern for the organ builder who installed it during my junior year of high school. I learned a lot, and enjoyed doing that very much. But, pipe organs are expensive instruments to keep in top condition, so I imagine it has been silenced by this time, 50+ years later. If so, that's a pity. It was a great organ, which once was installed in the Columbia Pictures Theater in Los Angeles before being put into that church. It's actually a theater organ, revoiced somewhat, but there are still some amazing theater organ stops remaining that saw very, very little use in the church.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. A beautiful old church in St. Paul has been purchased and will be used

for a performing arts center. http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-s-church-on-the-hill-sold-to-developer-who-envisions-a-performing-arts-center/474722303/#1 A vocal ensemble I belong to used to rehearse there before it was closed (it needs a ton of work), and the acoustics are wonderful. The architect, Masqueray, is somewhat famous and the building is historic, so it wasn't in danger of being torn down for a parking ramp, but I'm glad to see it will be put to a good purpose. Maybe this one can be used in that way as well.

[MineralMan]

6. The town's really too small to support such a facility.

It's more likely to be turned into a Christian school, with a church attached. But, that's a very expensive proposition, and I doubt there will be a ready buyer for this property.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. The ad says it was built in 2003, but I assume that is the date

of an office or classroom addition. From the architecture, especially the rose window, it looks like it might have originally been Catholic. The price is actually pretty low for a building that size; a business could buy it for office space and use the church part as some kind of auditorium. I've even heard of people buying old churches for a residence, although this one looks a bit too big for that purpose.

[MineralMan]

10. The main building was built in the 1920s.

Lots of add-ons have been made over the years. Today, it takes up a great deal of property, with all the secondary buildings. It was never a Catholic church, though. The Catholic church in that town, which is older, is almost directly across the street from that one. The church is also across the street from the town's high school, in another direction.

One of my high school pranks involved the high school and that church. At noon every day, the church played a carillon hymn from loudspeakers in the belfry. In the pastor's office was a 78 RPM record player, with a stack of records holding the carillon music. A timer controlled the automatic play at noon.

Because of the many things I did around that church, I had been given a master key to the church. One day, I used that key to enter the pastors office, where I slipped a 78 RPM rock and roll record into the middle of the stack of carillon hymns. A few days later, while I was sitting in an English class across the street from the church, that record dropped, and Little Richard's "Lucille" came booming out of the belfry. It played right through to the end, since nobody was in the church to shut it off.

Much merriment ensued. Of course, I was caught, but my punishment was mild, due to the general humor in the town over the incident. That prank, though, ensured that my reputation as the school's official class clown would live on for many years. There were other pranks, of course, but that one was the one people remember.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. An excellent prank!

[MineralMan]

14. One of my best.

And so simple to pull off. Even I didn't know what day it would go off, nor just how loud it would be. Very loud, it turned out. The noon carillon hymn could be heard all over town, so, you can imagine.

I did get a stern lecture from the pastor of the church, but I could see that he was trying hard not to laugh as he scolded me. He did change the lock on the office door, though, but didn't take back the master key I had. In those days, I had many keys, including a master key for the entire high school, thanks to the band director, who gave it to me one day for some reason or another. The local hardware store was nice enough to make me a copy for just 25 cents.

[Cartoonist]

4. My old prison

Still going strong. Affluent white conservative enclave, suburb of Chicago. I probably won't live to see it close.

[RainCaster]

8. No parking, this couldn't be done today

Break it up into a series of office condos and rezone it commercial

[MineralMan]

12. There never was a parking lot. People either walked to church

or parked on the street. It was a small town. At the time, it didn't present any problem. Today, it would be another matter. The town has grown to over 4 times its size back then.

[3catwoman3]

9. The sanctuary has a very serene...

...look to it, and the rose window is lovely.

[MineralMan]

13. Yes. It was a nice building, to be sure.

I spent a lot of time there as a young person. In high school, I sang in two choirs there, and was always involved in something going on in that building.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. For some reason I look at that picture

and I think, "Condominiums! Apartments!"

Churches typically have wonderful space for such conversions.

[packman]

16. In other words, you Shawshanked the church

?t=27

[Runningdawg]

17. Does your town need a gay bar?

We've had 2 pretty famous ones in OK - yes...OK
Free Spirit in OKC and Crash Landing in Tulsa

[MineralMan]

18. I haven't lived there for 50+ years,

So I don't know...Why do you ask, I wonder. The thread is about a church.

[Runningdawg]

20. You did ask what might happen to it next....

Old churches make great gay bars. You got to love the irony.

[MineralMan]

21. Do you know of one that has been converted to that use?

That would be interesting to learn about.

[Runningdawg]

23. I posted the 2 I know about - neither one still there

[Major Nikon]

19. ...or a strip club

If you're going to hell you might as well go in style.

[MineralMan]

22. Well, the stage is already there, with dressing rooms and everything.

At least that's the case in that particular church.