Hanging In: Hapeville's Stone Church After a Week of Demolition

I want to see the inside so bad, it almost hurts. Yesterday, I got a glimpse.

Maybe these pictures will trigger your memories. I'd love to read your comments. I ask a lot questions below.

I hope there is still to time save it. You can sign the petition: "Save the Hapeville First Baptist Church Stone Sanctuary from Demolition." A big check and a plan would work better.

Demolition started Monday, October 29, maybe earlier. I visited yesterday, Saturday. November 3 just before dusk. The light was just right for me to see into a window.

So far there is no wrecking ball, no demolition/excavator, no line of dump trucks.. Workman are dismantling it from the inside, hard dangerous work I'm sure.

You can't really see what's going on. Is it just a shell?


Workers hand out lumber and debris though the old windows. There was just enough light to "see" inside with my telephoto. As much as I'd like to see inside I don't dare get close.


Is this a balcony or a choir loft? Is the chancel to the east (left) or west (right)?


The ceiling is partially gone. Looks like there is some temporary bracing.


This really confuses me. See the window with the blind arch over there? It is not expressed on the outside.

Did they board up the window when they built the new education building? Did it ever have stained glass? Reader, do you know?


A little Photoshopping helped me bring out some detail.

I gasped when I saw a patch of ceiling.


Is this how you remember it?

I wasn't expecting to see anything, certainly not sturdy, handsomely detailed beams and what looks like metal panels.


Impressive. What about the chandeliers? Do you remember?

Note:
Is the granite structural? No. It's a decorative stick-on veneer. If it was structural, it would be a national treasure and mighty hard to tear down and haul off.


Your eye will never trust this arch.


This is from 1954. The portico was still there, and the stained glass. Permisson to use this image purchased from the Atlanta History Center.

Demolition Alert: Hapeville's Old Stone Church may be gone on Monday

Perhaps my fellow architecture tourists can visit Hapeville this Sunday before it's too late. If you can help, I want to hear from you.

The 1923 granite church building was all but abandoned. But it didn't cause much trouble until the roof collapsed last winter. It's Hapeville First Baptist's old stone church and it may be a goner, gone even before you read this.

A group has gathered to save it. I hope they can delay demolition long enough to find a solution. But these are difficult problems.

I stumbled on to it in the spring of 2011. It was like discovering a ruin in the forest. You can see the airport from here but it's not on the way to anywhere even for most Hapevillians.

Even in ruin it's an impressive sight. And I'm a sentimental man: Imagine the christenings, the baptisms, the music, the weddings, the funerals here.


This is from 1954. The portico was still there, and the stained glass. Image purchased from the Atlanta History Center.


The neighbors saw it like this in the spring.


Maybe not love at first sight but certainly fascination at first sight.


Yesterday I saw the shadows of the trusses. How much of the roof is still up there?

 
First Baptist built beautiful new buildings in 1964.





The designers / architects did  fine job of blending old and new..

It's a an amazingly quiet and human scaled property and it's right on the street. This 28 second video shows what it's like from the sidewalk.



I hope there will be much more to this story. Thanks.

Eleven Months into the Church Demolition - Edging Granite

"With the benefit of hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a hot idea." - H I McDunnough in Raising Arizona.

I've followed the demolition since November 2012. It was all but inevitable but nobody wanted it. In 2013 we lost the J.A. McCord Apartments, most of Crum & Forster, and we're about to lose E. Rivers but this one hurts me more. But as performance art it's unmatched in the city.


Yesterday at the remains of old stone church at Hapeville Baptist. The men are trimming the granite matrix back to the corner.

Recapping:


This is from 1954. The portico was still there and the stained glass. Image purchased from the Atlanta History Center.



Fall 2012, though abandoned it was a stunning sight, weight and presence galore.


The southwest wall. The 1964 building wrapped around the east end of the stone church.


They couldn't go all the way to the edge without damaging the new building. Could they have sawn though the granite?


They had to do the rest by hand.


That's what they were doing yesterday.

Here are 47 seconds of delicate, choreographed jackhammer teamwork.









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I regret that few interior pictures have surfaced.

 
The scar from the old stone church.

Happening Now: Painting a 1890 Victorian in Hapeville - the Madden House

Al emailed me July 7:

"Tim and I are (about to paint) our old Victorian......we need...professional advise as to the color selection and which architectural pieces should be painted which color...



"I am an Aries, strong and dominate opinionated, Tim, my partner, is certified interior designer, who happens to be Virgo, so pairing these, I think a mediator could salvage what could be a heated discussion..."

I asked Jessica McCarron who is in the Historic Preservation masters program at Georgia state.

"With your permission, I can forward to Richard Laub and Maryellen Higginbotham at GSU. Richard you may know, he's the director of the HP program. I'm in Maryellen's Historic Interiors class now; she would probably have some suggestions since her area of study is paint and wallpaper."



I dropped by on Saturday and discovered work had begun. I think they are up to 800 hours of repairing, scraping, replacing, and priming.


Victorian Exterior Decoration: How to Paint Your Nineteenth-Century American House Historically is the key find from the consultations. This book is the bomb!


Al and Tim are design pros and started rocking it. This is one of their studies.


It was blue in 2011.



When I got there Saturday, the south side had at least 8 colors.


I confess: I'm in love with these crazy houses.


The back side of the house is primed out.


I'm fascinated to see a Queen Anne in white primer; lets my eye focus on shapes and textures.


Right: The porch  / sun-room is an addition that makes a bodacious acute angle.


Lot's of work ahead but no hiding the wrinkles.


There's not as much birdhouse material as you might expect.


Live painting now in Hapeville, Georgia.


Here's another look from back in the day.


Here's a Kirkwood sister on Howard a few years ago.

I'll keep you updated.