Visiting churches past

During the great rush to the suburbs that hollowed out most small and medium-sized American towns in the recent past, many churches also relocated, outward bound along with their parishioners. Prescott was lucky to keep its central business district, though with a different, tourist-oriented suite of shops, offices and restaurants. But we, too, lost much of the religious base. Makes a difference, too. One more reason for local folk not to show up downtown. Not only that, there are all these distinctive buildings that need to be "repurposed", to use an dreadful new cyber word coined by Bill Gates or one of his minions. I've been collecting examples of what happens to such structures.

Perhaps the most distinctive is the Prescott Fine Arts theater, which was the original Sacred Heart Church. Interestingly enough, Sacred Heart is one of the few downtown churches that did not relocate several miles away, but moved to the top of the bluff just the other side of Granite Creek. This lovely old building deserves a separate post detailing its many features.

Anthony's, the furniture/antique refinisher on South Gurley, is located in a structure that literally shouts "former church" as does the Chapel Inn, a bed and breakfast on Mt. Vernon Street (below).

I don't know just what business occupies this one-time church in Forbing Park (above).

And I'm guessing that the office buildings above and below, on Marina and Willis Streets respectively, were formerly churches. Both feature that distinctive architecture.

Occasionally, the new use for a structure remains religious. Currently the former Lutheran church on West Gurley is serving the local Greek Orthodox congregation. However, that arrangement is temporary, as the group is said to be planning to build if and when. The previous tenant was an aikido studio and a for lease sign remains posted on Gurley.

St. Lukes moved north since I moved into Prescott. I would guess that parking was a major reason. Now the former chapel has been incorporated into the large, nearby Baptist church complex (which has a couple of fair-sized parking lots.)

Joel's Place is part of the controversial Church on the Street, which is heavily involved in rehab and homeless issues.

The move away from the central city is not really over. Out Willow Creek, the Disciples of Christ First Christian Church has a prominent for sale sign in the parking lot.

The same is true for the Prescott Presbyterian Church, located in a Marina Street building dating back to the 1890s.

Sad to say goodbye to all those congregations, but at least the old buildings remain to remind us of earlier times. It would be a pity to lose the flavor they add to our downtown.

Prescott by zoom

To readers from far away, here are views of downtown Prescott; to local readers, your chance to get a hillside view of our town so you can pick out all the details. Obviously the place to start: the Courthouse, with the city parking garage in the foreground and Union Street going up the hill on the other side.

Gurley Street, from the McCormick Street condo building (left foreground) all the way to the Hassayampa Hotel. including even a few Victorians at the very top. Plus the old Masonic building on Cortez peeking over the other buildings.

Compressed buildings over on Godwin Street, starting at the corner of Montezuma and looking east, including the post office, City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce.

Yavapai College buildings are at the very top of this view; the red brick structures are the Fine Arts Assn. building and the former movie house converted into offices for the Social Security Administration.

Here you can look all the way from Albertson's and the old Depot to the many white buildings of the VA hospital complex and up to the top of our local volcano, Glassford Hill.

A hillside full of houses.

The hillside scar that always accompanies a new building...

Though only a Big Box (Lowe's) would make a scar like this one! In the foreground, the balconies of the old Head Hotel show, as well as a major antenna tower.

McMansions near the Senator Highway, which leads into the forest south of town. As you can see, our downtown is very compact -- and full of trees, which, at this season, are barren and gray. The gray green foliage you see in many of the pictures is primarily scrub oak and juniper. Pictures, using the extreme zoom lens setting, were taken from a nearby hillside on the west side of town. When I got back to the house, a hungry robin was on a juniper, gobbling down the berries. The only picture I was able to get showed the tip of its tail and its beak. Ah, well. Win some, lose some.

Linkages: Some splendid pictures of remnants from days past by friend Bobbi (all local, by the way); Firefly Forest who takes wonderful nature pictures has just posted desert-in-bloom pix from down Picacho Peak way. And if you're looking for something strange, I give you the World Dream Bank. Speaking of dreams: if you happen to have a spare $5 mil, you might want to buy the acreage at the top of Mt. Tritle; it's on the market, according to Prescott Style. Tritle is the middle peak of the three highest mountains due south of town.

What Do You Do With A 2nd Hand Church?

Several weeks ago, the Courier ran a big article about the problem former churches present on the real estate market. "Buyers are often intimidated by the cost of adapting a church for commercial or industrial use. The buildings tend to have high heating and cooling costs because of their towering ceilings and large open spaces," according to the article.

Significantly, the article did not mention two pieces of one-time church property here in town: the old Potter's House at Ruth and Sun Streets and a former Lutheran church on West Gurley.

Above, the handsome Gurley Street church. I don't have a current picture of the Potter's House; while it carried a "for sale" sign a year or so ago, there's none right now and I have seen quite a few cars in the parking lot.
Meaning that the structure might be in use. Not that there's any sort of sign to let us know.

...Meanwhile, back to Gurley Street. Here is the ramp leading to the second upper level parking lot overlooking the traffic.

At one point, it looked as though a small congregation had leased a part of the property, although the group seemed to be limited to the parsonage to the east of the sanctuary. But they left. One day, I noted this sign (above). Not very prepossessing!

Now, a more mainstream firm is in charge. Light industrial? How sad. And next door to a lovely old Victorian house on the corner.

There are paying occupants in portions of the buildings: an aikido dojo (which is actually a more spiritual use than many others might be) plus a drug abuse center, which posts mysterious color messages in its second- level window (below.) Unfortunately, its clients are careless with their fast food packaging.

The Prescott Fine Arts Association is long settled into this former house of worship. Another non-profit appears to have taken over the St. Luke's Marina property. Surely there's a better future for that Gurley Street building. I can't imagine conversion to condos would make units pricier than those in that new creekside building, for instance!