So far, we’ve covered a good number of churches. Up until now, though, every church we’ve encountered has been in use by the denomination that built it. This week, we have a church that started off as one denomination and later became another.
Church Project Theorem #16: Caveat Emptor. This theorem refers to the buying and selling of church property. As we saw here, churches are prone to closing when their neighborhoods decay and decline. One of the possible outcomes of church closure is the selling of the buildings to a different sect.
Caveat Emptor is significant in that it is the ultimate representation of urban recycling. One church can’t use it anymore? No problem, give it to this upstart group over here! It benefits the group, because sometimes it’s the only way they can obtain sufficient worship space. It also benefits the community because it avoids adding another abandoned property to an often already-blighted landscape.
It’s worth noting that the transactions usually take place between established and non-established sects. For example, you don’t generally see Protestants buying Catholic churches, or vice versa. It’s usually Catholic or Protestant selling to fringe religious groups—the smaller, community-based faith organizations that take hold in those kind of impoverished neighborhoods. I’m not going to dig too deeply into the idea of established groups cutting and running out of the inner city, but it’s no coincidence that there are more fringe churches than Catholic churches in North Philadelphia. Take that however you like.
One final note. You may be asking why I call this theorem Caveat Emptor, or, “Let the Buyer Beware.” I’m not implying any malice or mischief by the selling organizations, but remember that a parish is, whether you like it or not, a business, and there are often large costs associated with running and maintaining a church building—especially if it’s an ostentatious Catholic one. In inability to maintain the church structures is usually one of the driving forces behind the decision to close a parish. The buying organization, then, can end up with more than they bargained for, especially if the parish has suffered through long periods of decline and decay.
Now, Universal Church is occupying the building that used to be the Roman Catholic Church of St. Stephen, at Broad & Butler Streets.
Astute readers will recall that St. Stephen was mentioned as a victim of the North Philadelphia Swath of Destruction; it was closed during the Year of Hell and consolidated into the new Our Lady of Hope parish, farther up on Broad Street.
It’s quite a shame, since St. Stephen looks to have been a fine church in its day. It’s not huge, but it has lovely brown stone construction, ice-cream cone spires and script work, especially around the doors and in the corners.
Unfortunately, that’s about as far as I care to go. It’s difficult to truly evaluate this building, because its new owners took a hatchet to the interior.
Church Project Theorem #17: Pimp My Church
Ok, the name is slightly tongue-in-cheek. But the point is not. Pimp My Church refers to the physical changes the new owners impose on a structure. Some changes are to be expected, as the previous owners generally remove whatever isn’t nailed down or ridiculously heavy—various ornamentation, sacred items and, most notably, the stained glass windows. What we’re talking about here are alterations that go above and beyond the norm…when the new tenets can’t leave well enough alone.
I bring this up because, from the inside, Universal Church looks nothing like a church. They dry-walled over the arches and vaults, shrunk the interior space, and turned it into a glorified plaster classroom. You would never know that you were inside a grand church, and there’s now a ridiculous disconnect between the interior and exterior. Not content to leave well enough alone, they even replaced the ancient front doors with clear glass ones. Yeah, you heard me.
A historical analysis will reveal that the interior was once pretty nice. This site, run by parish alumni, has a photo album containing some interior shots, and an album of the stained glass windows. It’s not perfect, but it gives you at least some idea of how things were in the heyday.
The thing is, I can’t think of a plausible reason why this would benefit the parish. And it’s recent construction; I’ve driven past this church regularly, and they were using the old setup for quite some time.
Does it save money on heating? Were they craving a smaller space? That’s what lower churches are for. If anyone from the Universal Church is reading, please let me know the reasoning behind this.
The Project weeps. Not as much as last week, but still.
Size Rating: 8 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 3 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 4 out of 10 crosses
