It was originally built in 1913, then rebuilt in 1928. The church closed in the 80s but wasn’t completely abandoned until 2002. In those twelve years the building has essentially been gutted. The stained glass is gone, scrappers have long since taken all the metal, and most recently vandals have taken to writing dumb crap on the walls. It just makes my blood boil to see people painting obscenities on walls. STOP IT. In all reality though, for being probably one of the most popular spots to explore in Cleveland, it’s not in that bad of shape. I mean, it still has a roof! Guess they just don’t build ’em like they used to.
My first visit was fairly brief but on this one I took my time and poked around the church a little more. I ventured into the basement, and even up a very old ladder to the top of one of the steeples where I found even more ladders. The wooden one shown below took you to the very top of the steeple on the outside. I passed on that, partly because the floor wasn’t in the best condition and the last thing I want to do is fall through the floor of a big old church while climbing a ladder. But I’m still happy to have seen a view that people who have lived in the neighborhood their whole life have never seen.
xoxo