First Christian Church, Jackson (1949-50)
Jackson’s First Christian Church doesn’t exactly fit in with some of our other Abandoned Mississippi sites. It doesn’t sit crumbling, left alone in the woods or out in a field, far from the city. From the outside, in fact, the casual observer might not even know that this imposing Gothic Revival building on the corner of High and North State Streets is not a church anymore. But its future is just as murky as if it were in those straits. It has been abandoned–not just abandoned but vandalized–by its original congregation, and is now owned by a congregation that really has no use for it. First Baptist Church bought the property in 2002 with the intention of tearing down all but the tower and creating a “prayer garden” on its corner lot one block from First Baptist’s complex.
First Christian Church, Jackson (1949-50)
After a public outcry in the local press, First Baptist backed away from that plan. In all fairness, they have maintained the property to its current level of manicured lawn and have kept the building secured. But so far they haven’t expressed any desire to actually do anything with the imposing Gothic Revival building, constructed in 1950 and designed by the prominent Jackson architectural N.W. Overstreet & Associates (ironically, N.W. Overstreet was a deacon at First Baptist).
I was fortunate enough to explore the sanctuary one day about a year before the congregation, dwindling down from its stated 450 members in the 1950s to about 50 by the turn of the century, abandoned the church and moved to a small Ranch house at the corner of Ridgewood and Briarwood roads in northeast Jackson. Unaware of what was to come, and before the age of digital cameras, I didn’t have a camera with me to capture the amazing sanctuary, whose shockingly vivid stained-glass windows oozed a blue aura that infused even the high spaces of the sanctuary. I can still see a mental picture of the specs of dust caught in the late afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows–I wish I could paint that picture for y’all. Luckily, I did snag a full-color brochure that explained each window, and I have scanned those images, which give only a shadow sense of the space. Two pictures of the sanctuary on the MHT site give the best feeling of how the space felt.
these small images were embedded within huge planes of blue glass
For a while, there was talk of another congregation from south Jackson buying the building, which includes not only the sanctuary but an attached two-story educational wing and small chapel. That talk abruptly ended when it was announced that the congregation had sold to First Baptist. The Northside Sun and the Clarion-Ledger both ran articles that were answered by a flood of letters to the editors, and the old Planet Weekly (those were good times, man) published a mocking “alternative-future” article, set in 2009, when the Scientologists buy First Baptist and the New Capitol so that the legislature can move to Madison. The Belhaven Heights neighborhood, which is anchored at the southwest corner by First Christian, opposed the proposed demolition and questioned the sale, as noted in the Northside Sun (April 4, 2002):
Alex McCord, architect and president of Belhaven Heights Neighborhood Association, said his association is appalled at First Christian’s willingness to allow the church to be raised (sic) without properly marketing it.
“It has not been on the open market or with a Realtor. There are bound to be congregations out there that would love to be in such an exquisite historical building that is centrally located downtown,” he said.
“There were several offers that came by virtue of word of mouth.”
The Mississippi Heritage Trust placed the church its 2003 10 Most Endangered Places list.
The negativity clearly caught First Baptist off guard, and they announced they would not demolish the building and even had the building designated as a Mississippi Landmark by MDAH. But there the church has stood, with no use for almost a decade.
what remains of the once stunning stained glass windows--notice the broken remnants of the lead at the bottom
Worse, and I’m not clear when this happened–I’ve been told it happened even before First Baptist signed the papers–members of the congregation of First Christian allegedly destroyed the old sanctuary by breaking out as much of the enormous blue windows as they could reach. They also apparently stripped some of the hardware and doors, and even destroyed the altar/pulpit area, which had been nicely finished in the Gothic style. I was told by a friend who went inside the building after this occurred that shards of blue and red glass literally covered the sanctuary floor. She was visibly upset by the sight.
What could have possessed a supposedly Christian congregation to destroy a place of beauty and glory to God with such conscious relish? Did they want a piece of the building for nostalgia? Did they assume it would be torn down so it didn’t matter? Did they not want it to ever be used again? Certainly, this vandalism has diminished the value of the sanctuary. At least in its previous state, as Alex McCord noted, its architectural presence and detail were a selling point and might have led another congregation to take on the maintenance of such a large and complex structure. Now, possibly only First Baptist has the money, if it will spend it, to put the building back into use, but what does that church need with yet another sanctuary? Is there anyone in the First Baptist congregation who can speak up for this abandoned treasure?
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Well, that is a sad story and profoundly disturbing.
Posted by Susan Allen | April 28, 2011, 7:22 amIt is incredibly sad and certainly unnecessary. Any thought perhaps of its being adaptively reused as a restaurant, loft or even office use? This might make an interesting centerpiece for a boutique hotel. I can’t comprehend the mindset which would allow the members of the congregation to destroy their own sanctuary.
Posted by Tom Barnes | April 28, 2011, 11:44 amTruly sad and outrageous! Being the daughter of a retired minister I can’t imagine a congregation wreaking such havoc on a house of God. Perhaps if they had taken out the stained glass to put into a new sanctuary I could understand, since it was part of their history. But to destroy it is just disturbing. I don’t know what can be done to replace what was taken from the building but if I were closer, I would certainly jump on the fastest bandwagon to help!
Posted by Catherine | April 28, 2011, 6:53 pmMy brother was the architect that did the renovation prior to the sale to FBC. I spent a lot of time there before it was gutted by the previous congregation. When FBC bought the property, they had plans to make a prayer garden as someone stated before. The reason they chose the garden was that the building itself has major foundation problems that would require a complete rebuild to save. I’m talking Yazoo clay cracking walls and floors. The last renovation tried to address the problem but was unsuccessful. The congregation (thinking the church would be demolished) took all the old stained glass, and just about anything else that could be hauled off (and I mean everything, light switches and all). Their intent was to use the glass and fixtures when building a new church located in Madison…. whether they followed through with that is unknown. It was a beautiful church, the sanctuary glowed from the light through the stained glass. The huge pipe organ and wooden pulpit were beautiful. Now, it stands unused with the exception of a small kitchen/auditorium building on the back. For now, the building stands waiting on time and Yazoo clay to bring it down.
Posted by Robert Dillard | May 2, 2011, 12:51 pmI can’t think of a less–suited use of this parcel than a contemplative garden. I don’t know why downtown churches are so gung-ho on ripping everything down in favor of yet more parking lots….lots that, lets face it, are only used during Sunday mornings.
I wonder if the clay-caused shifting occurs in both the sanctuary and the ancillary building attached to the east side. If it’s the latter, could not a newer, properly built structure replace it?
And, perhaps a wedding venue? Lecture/performance space? Could the back building perhaps house non-profits that could share the cost of upkeep/maintenance?
One thing I know…it’s a great place for a 12-step program. I know, since I quit smoking at Nicotine Anonymous, in a room on the lower floor. It worked
Posted by pibbb25 | August 7, 2011, 5:24 amSomehow I found my way to this post and the comments above. I can understand the feelings of outrage about vandalism. I felt that way myself. If blood could boil, my veins and arteries needed a steam pressure release valve. Then I read Mr. Dillard’s comment. Mr Dillard’s comment explains the circumstance that demolition loomed as the sadly diminished congregation could not fix the foundation problem. I notice that First Christian still features blue stained glass as its logo. http://www.fccjackson.org/News.html It does not look as though First Christian used professionals to save what it could of its sanctuary, but apparently the congregation tried to preserve what they could. (I doubt on reflection that 50 aging members of a congregation would hack their way about to make tokens and keepsakes enough for thousands.)
My boiling blood has cooled and my fires are banked by the facts. Now I am wondering whether my readiness to condemn what appeared to be inexcusable vandalism should be replaced with some readiness to help those doing what they can in untenable situations.
In that vein, I have several questions. Has anyone ever contacted the First Christian congregation about possible re-use of the windows and pews and organ and such, in a way that continues in some sense, in some place, the iconic interior for the community as well as the congregation? Likewise, has anyone ever asked if First Christian donated the glass and the rest eventually to some other church? (The Christian Church in Cairo Illinois’ windows were donated to the Seelos Center in New Orleans.) Has any one ever contacted First Baptist about studying the foundation problem, which has meant that First Baptist is attempting to stablize a building for preservation purposes that is inherently unstable? Unless someone has and that someone met with indifference or hostility, I believe I should attempt to make some small donations in partial amends for my too quck condemnation. As things stand right now, I am abashed at the least.
By the way this is no comment upon or judgment about the very fine posting or other comments. This clearly generated interest, besides my own. Too, clearly I am not in a mood to criticize anyone or anything today, after my own change of course regarding my indignation.
Posted by john C | January 17, 2012, 12:44 pmIn the way that retirees have of putting themselves into matters that, when working, they would avoid like the plague, I took it on myself a few weeks ago to follow up to see if the windows were still there in Jackson and, presumably, available for some suitable project to resurrect the bluish light that is mentioned on this blog. After several e-mails to FCC of Jackson (which features the blue windows as its logo), I called the Church and was referred to a Mr. Jack Mobely (sp?) . (601) 594-5138. Mr. Mobely stated that several members of the congregation took the small windows, but that the sanctuary windows were still in storage. I explained that the question had come up on this blog about whether they had survived if someone or some group had an idea for their use, and he seemed certainly willing to talk to people about appropriate use and interest.
I am not from Jackson, but it is clear to me that these were for many there part of the social and religious iconography of the community, in a way that extends far beyond any particular congregation or denomination. If any preservationist has any interest, I hope this proves helpful.
Posted by john C | February 16, 2012, 7:36 amOn a tangent, does anyone know whether the melted fiberglass windows of the 1960s, specifically those of Resilene by Browne (TM), were used in any churches? I bought a 1960s “painting” (not translucent) by Resilene by Browne and became intrigued by the few references I found. See the publicity/lpress photo from the old Chicago Dally News at http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-Press-Photo-Resilene-Browne-stained-glass-windows-/250995868369 and the copyright entries at http://books.google.com/books?id=Ux4hAQAAIAAJ&pg=PP585&lpg=PP585&dq=Resilene+by+Browne&source=bl&ots=iOiukfJvMM&sig=Y0PQkB7LxBIp8Z4703XMLGmzv8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OYJHT5LLK8aqgwetqrH5DQ&sqi=2&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Resilene%20by%20Browne&f=false
Posted by john C | February 24, 2012, 6:35 amI’m a young minister who have started a new church in Jackson and I would love the opporrunity to acquire the property and with God and anyone willing to support the restoration; give life to a very precious and needed landmark. If First Baptist has no use for it they should allow someone else to make good use of it.
Posted by Pastor Travis M. Buckley | March 20, 2012, 1:04 amPastor Buckley, prayers and encouragement to you and for you. As a far away individual, I can only suggest that you need to talk to First Baptist. They may have a use not obvious to us or there may be reasons why the landmark cannot have life. You may, of course, find the opposite and that everything is in a sense prepared for your entry on the scene. Best hopes to you.
Posted by john C | March 20, 2012, 8:14 pm