A family trip to Clear Lake Park was a good excuse to revisit the Bay Area Museum. This facility is housed in a repurposed church that was saved from demolition in the late 1970’s. I blogged about this facility in 2016 but had not been able to see the interior. As luck would have it, this time the museum was open! The interior has been restored faithfully with much of the original layout intact. ... Read More
Worship Space / Preservation / Adaptive Reuse / Chapels / Church Adaptive Reuse
In 1979, the second Webster Presbyterian Church had seen better days. The first church building only lasted four years and was detroyed by a hurrican in 1900. Though this sturdy structure had fared much better, the congregation had grown and constucted a new building in 1960. Now in disrepair, ministry leaders were planning to tear the old church down. The church needed a savior, a dynamic and ... Read More
Adaptive Re-use / Historic Preservation / Preservation / Adaptive Reuse
The sign out front has been blanked out, all lettering removed. The dedication plaque, however, labels this site as the home of the Loyalty Missionary Baptist Church. The concrete block structure stands solidly in the middle of a large property. Behind it there’s a large wooden structure. And behind them both is a smaller wood frame structure. Just looking at the architecture, the concrete ... Read More
Thirty-three years after it was completed, Church Court in Boston proves the adaptability of old church structures and the value of using best practices to save them. The structure is a mix of new construction and salvaged structure from the former Mount Vernon Congregational Church. Shortly after the church closed a fire destroyed the building, leaving not much more than the exterior walls and ... Read More