It’s hard to get the kind of investment it takes to preserve these anchor buildings in neighborhoods that the majority of the people in the metro (a guess) aren’t even comfortable *driving* through.
Most/all these northside neighborhoods continue to bleed residents and jobs and everything else, and they keep falling further into disrepair, vacancy, and crime – or at least the perception of danger. Along with these issues, and the increasing lack of neighborhood amenities, getting new residents and money into the north side is a tough sell.
That’s a long way of saying big churches like St. Augustine’s need A LOT of people in the pews just to keep up with maintenance, let alone civic outreach initiatives. The legacy of segregation lives on.
Wish the bell tower could remain as a landmark, and a new church could be built on the land serving the community. Of course nothing could ever replace what was lost. That place definitely stood out when driving past on Parnell.
It makes you think what all of the Church closings happening now will set into motion in their own neighborhoods. Usually nothing better…
Was a beautiful church. We have lost so many – it is a shame on our negligence as a community.
It’s hard to get the kind of investment it takes to preserve these anchor buildings in neighborhoods that the majority of the people in the metro (a guess) aren’t even comfortable *driving* through.
Most/all these northside neighborhoods continue to bleed residents and jobs and everything else, and they keep falling further into disrepair, vacancy, and crime – or at least the perception of danger. Along with these issues, and the increasing lack of neighborhood amenities, getting new residents and money into the north side is a tough sell.
That’s a long way of saying big churches like St. Augustine’s need A LOT of people in the pews just to keep up with maintenance, let alone civic outreach initiatives. The legacy of segregation lives on.
It still has a stately presence….id like to have a camera set up there to watch someone perform death defying acts to steal the last scraps of copper.
Wish the bell tower could remain as a landmark, and a new church could be built on the land serving the community. Of course nothing could ever replace what was lost. That place definitely stood out when driving past on Parnell.
It makes you think what all of the Church closings happening now will set into motion in their own neighborhoods. Usually nothing better…