# What Do They Do With Old Churches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765 "2011-08-06T19:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/1 "2011-08-06T19:53:35Z")
I was walking past a pretty good sized Orthadox Church today and I noticed a sign that said that the new church has been built and is open, and that the worshippers should now go to the new location. My question is, what do they do with old churches? I can’t remember ever seeing a church relocate or go out of business, though I imagine they must do so. Do lay people every buy them? I think it’d be pretty cool to live in a church like a house. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/2 "2011-08-06T20:01:49Z")
This happened in Whitby when I was a kid. A church was ‘decommissioned’ (desanctified?) and turned back into a regular building, then someone bought it and turned it into a house. It remains a house to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/3 "2011-08-06T20:04:58Z")
sometimes another church will buy it. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/4 "2011-08-06T20:11:06Z")
I couldn’t find with a quick Google, but I know there is one incredible old church in Milan that is now a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/5 "2011-08-06T20:15:20Z")
Most community churches that are abandoned by their sect are subsequently taken over by other sects, unless there is simply not enough residential population to draw from. In that case, the actual building is usually modified somewhat, and used for secular purposes, like a business, or in some cases civil facilities. (We have a Recreation Department senior center near where I live that is in a building that was once a church.) About forty years ago, in a town not far from me, a church building was declared a historic site immediatly after a local developer decided to open a strip mall on the location. So, now there is an empty church building, maintained at county expense, in the middle of a strip mall parking lot. The strip mall is pretty much abandoned, other than a cash-a-check loan place, and a few other small businesses. The First Baptist Church in an immediate suburb of our Nation’s Capital has a building on the same site as its first location, but it is now on the second floor of an Exxon service station. I have always wondered if it was the First Baptist Exxon station, or the First Exxon Baptist Church. Tris ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/6 "2011-08-06T20:18:16Z")
Here in Nashville we used to have one that was turned into a combination strip club/liquor store, and is currently a blues/soul club near downtown. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/7 "2011-08-06T20:29:22Z")
Lots of different things. Other religious groups may buy a church. Some churches are deconsecrated, whereupon they may become condos or other living spaces. Sometimes, churches get a second life as a performance or rehearsal venue. When we bought our current house in 2007, there was an Anglican church that was for sale. We tried to work it out, but the asking price was just beyond our price/practical range. We were thinking of living in what was currently the church offices, and keeping the sanctuary as a rehearsal/recording/performance space, 3 nights a week classical, 3 nights a week jazz, no liquor license… We could have bought it if we had sold everything, cashed in all RRSPs, RESPs and other savings possible, moved directly into the space and done all the renovations ourselves. However, that would have put us only one problem (‘This central beam will need replacing’ says the building inspector, as but one example.) away from losing absolutely everything. As it was, it went to a condo developer, so it is unlikely that we would have even got near it. Sadly, that’s the fate of more and more urban churches, while performance venues, particularly for purely acoustic music, become rarer and rarer. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/8 "2011-08-06T20:35:03Z")
One in my town became part of the hospital–I think it’s offices. A church building I attended as a kid was simply moved to Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/9 "2011-08-06T20:43:50Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > I couldn’t find with a quick Google, but I know there is one incredible old church in Milan that is now a restaurant. [Gattopardo Cafe](http://guidepal.com/milan/bars--nightlife/gattopardo-cafe) formerly the Church of St Joseph ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/10 "2011-08-06T20:45:33Z")
There’s one in Charleston, SC that is a restaurant. There’s one in Ventura, CA that is a bed & breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/11 "2011-08-06T21:09:25Z")
The most common thing is for one church to sell to another church. This often happens when one church outgrows the building and moves on while selling the building to a smaller growing church. They can be re-purposed, but this is difficult. Sometimes they are changed into restaurants. Office space is possible as the open area can be partitioned. If the land is worth more for residential, that is also done. Cities love to have the increased tax base. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/12 "2011-08-06T21:24:26Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > My question is, what do they do with old churches? I don’t know. Is the correct answer, hit 'em with a wrecking ball? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/13 "2011-08-06T21:28:32Z")
_The Tabernacle_ music venue in downtown Atlanta used to be a Baptist Tabernacle. Seats 2600 so it was a pretty large church in its day. San Fransisco has a large supply of surplus churches. Old First Concerts is based in a former church, [another church](http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/04/25/old-church-transforms-into-housing-for-developmentally-disabled-in-san-francisco/) has been turned into assisted living, and then there’s [this “home”](http://freshome.com/2011/03/09/unconventional-home-church-in-san-francisco-turned-into-family-crib/). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/14 "2011-08-06T21:33:45Z")
There’s an old church just across the street from us that’s now a beauty salon. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/15 "2011-08-06T22:00:15Z")
A beautiful 1850s church on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan became Limelight, one of the \*best \*clubs of the '80s. \*Gosh \*did I have a good time there, necking with former Catholic-school boys freaking out at the stained-glass Marys glaring down at us . . . ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/16 "2011-08-06T22:01:29Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > My question is, what do they do with old churches? I can’t remember ever seeing a church relocate or go out of business, though I imagine they must do so. Churches (and other religious groups) go out of business all the time. The Catholic Church has shrunk in some cities, so it’s sold off church buildings, school buildings and other buildings it owns. In some cities, synagogues have closed as their members aged. My college had its computer center in a former church. And while you didn’t ask, newer churches have been built in unconventional buildings. There’s a big church in Houston in a former sports arena (Lakewood Church in the former Compaq Center). Some churches have taken over vacated big box store locations. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/17 "2011-08-06T22:01:46Z")
I dunno, but I’ve always wanted to live in an old church. NOT one of the huge ones, just a smaller one with “church-look” features inside and out. I’ve seen some really cute ones. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/18 "2011-08-06T22:03:30Z")
Personally, I’ve always wanted to live in a former firehouse, with the firepole still in place. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/19 "2011-08-06T22:11:15Z")
A big problem, and getting bigger as mainline Protestant churches lose membership. Evangelical suburban megachurches are growing, but they want enormous arenas, recreational facilities, and parking lots. Meanwhile, in the cities, ordinary street-corner Presbyterian or Methodist churches dwindle to a few elderly people and eventually combine with another congregation. Catholic archdioceses can sometimes afford to mothball churches, but time and weather take a toll. In Chicago, two enormous 19th century Catholic churches [are being disassembled and recombined](http://www.wbez.org/blog/lee-bey/2011-06-27/renaissance-ruin-south-side-last-days-st-john-god-church-88420) 50 miles north to create a new suburban Catholic church. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765/20 "2011-08-06T22:17:03Z")
At the University of Minnesota, there’s an old church in the middle of Frat Row that was bought by the University and is now used for classes. It’s getting torn down next summer to make way for another dormitory. In my hometown, the Methodist church shut down and was bought and turned into a community theater. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-do-with-old-churches/591765.md?page=2)