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 City
Methodist Church in Gary has crumbled into an unholy mess. Vandals, fire and age
have beset the 1926 Gothic Revival house of worship, ravaging the decorative
interior and threatening what remains of the Bedford limestone structure. Closed
and abandoned for many years, the church now faces urban death. The city plans
to demolish the church for downtown resident parking.
In a 1996 effort to create a downtown historic district, City
Methodist was listed as a building contributing to the downtown’s artistic,
cultural or historical value, says Christopher Meyers, a consultant and former
preservation specialist for Gary. “It’s a great building, and I hope some
partnership can be developed to save it,” he says.
Construction of the church once known as First Methodist began
in 1925, an era of economic boom barely 20 years after Gary was founded as a
steel-making city. United States Steel Corp. contributed more than half the
project’s cost of $650,000. Elbert Gary, who gave his name to the city, donated
a Skinner organ. The sanctuary seated 950 worshippers, and in the church’s
heyday the congregation totaled nearly 3,000 members.
City Methodist played a role in Gary’s early cultural history,
Meyers says. Pastor William Seaman blocked a screening of Birth of a Nation, a
movie that glorified the Ku Klux Klan, and railed against the growing power of
the Klan in Indiana during the 1920s. In a time when African Americans were
refused entrance to white churches, Seaman welcomed black worshippers to City
Methodist.
Social change in the 1960s affected the church, and by 1973 the
congregation had dwindled to 300 members. The Methodists left the structure in
the late 1970s; a second congregation briefly occupied the building, then
departed in the early 1980s. Storefronts and office space occupied one wing of
the building after that, but soon the building was totally abandoned.
Today the interior lies in ruins, picked clean of ornamentation
and swept by a 1997 fire. Large sections of roof gape to the sky; many of the
Gothic arch windows have been stripped of their stained glass; debris clutters
the floors.
Despite the gloom, Meyers hopes the building may still find a
new use. His suggestions: a home for not-for-profit organizations, a restaurant
or nightclub, a visitors center, office space for startup businesses.
Source:
Historic Landmarks
The first group of members met on the sand dunes under the trees, then in the
jail, and finally in a little white schoolhouse. From these people, the first
Methodist Church was organized on Oct. 5, 1906. In the summer of 1907, they
moved into the only brick structure in Gary, a factory at 22nd Ave. and
Jefferson St. In 1909, they moved into the basement of their first church at 7th
and Adams St. In Oct. 1926, the million dollar Gothic cathedral at 6th Ave. and
Washington St. was completed and dedicated. It officially closed in 1975.
After Gary City Church closed in 1975, all the church records were sent to the
Archives at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Seth and I did a lot of
research on Gary and especially City Church. In January, 2005, I went to the
library at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and looked at every book about
Gary that I found there. One of those books was "The Protestant Experience In
Gary." That book had a very detailed history of Gary City United Methodist
Church. The book also had a few photographs of the Church, including a photo of
the cornerstone laying ceremony in 1925. The caption under the photo listed the
DePauw University Archives as the source. I called the Archives and was told
that I could look through the files and make copies of records and scan
photographs. I drove down there in early February, 2005. I found many old
photographs of the Gary City Church including photos of the interior. I scanned
about 30 photos. I also signed a release in which agreed to indicate that the
DePauw University Archives was the source of photos whenever I used them. When I
posted the photos on-line I wrote that I found them in the DU Archives. When
Seth saw the photos he went to City Church and tried to re-create the pictures
by standing in the exact locations where the pictures were taken. For the old
photos which included people, Seth and I tried to re-create the scenes. The then
and now pictures were posted many times on-line on many sites. After Seth was
killed, Tim suggested that some of his photos should be added to the Archives. I
contacted DePauw and asked how to go about doing that. I wrote the paper about
Seth and selected 20 of his photos of the ruins of City Church. I presented the
paper and the photos to the co-coordinator of the Archives on December 5, 2006.
Twenty 5 X 7 and two 8X 10 prints of Seth's pictures of the Gary City Church
Ruins and this paper about the photographer have been added to the Archives at
DePauw University.
Seth Thomas (1982-2006)
The ruins photographs of Gary City Church were taken by Seth Thomas. Seth was a
self-taught photographer who found beauty in places overlooked or considered
eyesores by most people. The abandoned buildings of the American rust belt
industrial centers, places like Gary and Detroit, were the subjects of his
photographs. He lived in Hobart, Indiana, and spent much of his time wandering
the streets of Gary looking for forgotten architectural treasures in the decay
and ruins. Gary City Church was one of his favorite abandoned buildings. Seth
also researched the history of the abandoned locations he photographed.
Gary City Church was the vision of William Grant Seaman, pastor of the
congregation from 1916 to 1929. It symbolized what he thought the church should
and could do in downtown Gary. The three words most frequently used in his
references to the building were "beautiful, commanding, and "monument."
Construction of Gary City Church began in January, 1925. Opening ceremonies and
services were held in the completed church during the first week of October,
1926.
On October 5, 1975, the final service was held in the church. (1)
Even in its severely decayed condition thirty years after City Church closed, it
remained "beautiful, commanding, and a monument," and Seth Thomas captured those
qualities in his photographs. The old church clearly stood out among the ruins
of downtown Gary to someone who was able to see William Seaman's vision in the
neglect and decay.
Seth posted many of his ruins photographs on "Urban Photography" sites on the
Internet. The quality of his photographs and his ability to capture beauty in
the decay stood out even among the works of many professional photographers. His
photos attracted the attention of countless professional and amateur
photographers, architects, engineers, historians and just plain ordinary people
around the world. Many came to Gary to see City Church and take their own photos
because of Seth's pictures. Frequently, they were greeted by Seth who provided a
tour and a history lesson. Seth met with urban photographers from many states,
Canada, Europe and Australia. On August 12, 2006, he met an urban photographer
who had come from Belgium to see the ruins of Gary City Church. The ruins of
Gary City Church are as well known today for William Seaman's beautiful
commanding monument as was the Church while it was in use because of Seth
Thomas.
On September 23, 2006, Seth Thomas was struck and killed by by a train while
taking pictures. On October 1, Seth's family and friends met in the abandoned
church for a memorial ceremony. This just happened to be the 80th anniversary of
the official opening week services of Gary City Church. As a result of this
gathering, Seth's family has been contacted by many people who spent time at the
church - from taking classes there (before Indiana University was built) to
being married there. They would like provide their personal accounts for the
Archives.
(1) Lewis, James W. The Protestant Experience In Gary, Indiana, 1906-1975.
Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1992.
Frank Joseph *******
December 4, 2006
Sources:
DePauw University Archives |
Seth Thomas
Memorial
DePauw University Archives
Faith Fabric - City Methodist
Historic Landmarks - City Methodist Church
Historic Buildings of Indiana
Myopic Industries - City Methodist Church
Purdue University Chronicle - Seth Thomas Memorial
Seth Thomas Memorial
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