The Bethlehem Healing Temple in Gary has been named among the state's 10 most endangered buildings by Indiana Landmarks, the Indianapolis-based preservation group.
The statewide preservationist organization, which has an office on Lake Street in Gary's Miller neighborhood, released its annual 10 Most Endangered list to shine a spotlight on buildings that face issues like neglect, abandonment, dilapidation, obsolescence, a lack money for maintenance or the threat of development.
“Indiana Landmarks uses its 10 Most Endangered list in several ways. Sometimes it serves an educational role. It functions as an advocacy tool. And it can assist in raising funds needed to save a place,” said Marsh Davis, president of the nonprofit preservation organization, in the organization's announcement of its list.
The 2024 list includes the Bethlehem Healing Temple at 700 Jefferson St., Gary. It was designed byIndiana architect A. Frank Wickes and constructed in 1923, when it was touted as “a distinct contribution to the architecture of the city."
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TheRenaissance Revival building was originally built for the congregation of Gary’s Central Christian Church, not long after Gary was founded as a company town around U.S. Steel's Gary Works steel mill. The City of the Century, the largest city founded in America in the 20th century, bustled in those early days when it experienced rapid, breakneck growth.
On the outside, the church, located near the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in downtown Gary, features a brick and Bedford stone façade with a towering campanile. On the inside, it has a sanctuary with 36-foot ceilings, an assembly room, a kitchen, a pantry and a Bible school wing that can accommodate up to 700.
The Bethlehem Healing Temple now runs the church, having taken it over in 1996. But the religious building is in jeopardy.
As is the case with many historic churches around Northwest Indiana and the nation, the congregation is aging and shrinking, Indiana Landmarks noted in its description of the building's condition. The congregation lacks the resources to maintain such a large church.
The church has no gutters and water has damaged exterior masonry to the point where one wall has partially collapsed. The roof failed and had to have emergency repairs after years of deferred maintenance.
TheBethlehem Healing Temple's small congregation is holding services in the basem*nt, where water damage has resulted in peeling paint and crumbling plaster. Congregants are struggling to raise funds for badly needed repairs in what Indiana Landmarks characterizes as "an uphill battle."
Indiana Landmarks' 2024 10 Most Endangered List also includes College Hall at the Merom Camp & Retreat Center in Merom, the Rudicel-Montgomery Polygonal Barn in Waldron, the Sollman School in Snake Run near Fort Branch, the Sposeep & Sons Building in Wabash and the West Side Recreation Club in South Bend. Repeat entries from last year include the Historic Fraternal Lodges in Indianapolis and statewide, the International Harvester Engineering Building in Fort Wayne, the Starr Historic District in Richmond and the State Theatre in Anderson.
Only 20 of the 170 Most Endangered Sites that Indiana Landmarks has identified since 1991 have fallen to demolition over the years. About 105 of the historic buildings and places have been restored or no longer face threats after the spotlight has brought greater public concern and more resources, according to the organization.
“Each endangered place tells a distinct story, and each faces its own set of challenges. In all cases, when an endangered place lands on our list, we commit to seeking solutions that lead to rescue and revitalization,” Davis said.
For more information, visit www.indianalandmarks.org or call 317-639-4534 or 800-450-4534.
A look back at Northwest Indiana businesses that closed in 2023
A look back at Region businesses that closed in 2023
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