Gary City Methodist Church
The First Methodist Church of Gary, Indiana was built in 1925 by Chicago architects Lowe & Bollenbacher. Much of the funding and structural steel was personally donated by United States Steel Corp founder Elbert Gary (whom the town was named after). At it's peak, the gothic bedford limestone structure supported nearly 3000 members. In the 1960's & 70's the social and economic shifts in the area caused the congregation to dwindle to 1/10th it's original size and the Methodists eventually abandoned the church in 1975 when they could no longer afford to maintain it. Storefronts and a dance school briefly occupied one wing of the structure in the 1980's but they were soon abandoned as well. In 1997 the church was partially destroyed by fire and has since sat in ruins. Gary city officials have been warning of demolition for the last decade to level the church for a parking lot (more parking in a city with a dwindling population). A few local preservationists along with Gary city planner David Wright hope to reuse the building or at least save the sanctuary and turn it into a "Relic Garden". So far no one has come up with a financially feasible solution and the threat of demolition lingers. The building still stands (and the overall structure is remarkably sound) as of April 2007.
|
