Gary’s sad story is written on the payrolls of US Steel. When the mill modernized there were massive layoffs, as a result this grand gothic church’s congregation fell from 1,700 to 100. It closed in 1975.
history under ground
Churches
City Methodist Church
Holy Family Orphanage
Marquette, MI
Two things happened around Marquette, Michigan when the mining started: Native Americans were pushed off their land and miners got killed at work. Both of these factors filled this circa-1914 orphanage.
Holy Name Catholic Church
Kansas City, MO
During the Kansas City riots following Martin Luther King’s assassination this circa-1911 gothic revival was the site of a nearly tragic stampede.
James Clemens House
Saint Louis, MO
Many older cities around the US have areas like this, where last century’s mansions are today’s abandonments and hastily-split tenements. Not friendly places, people usually zoom through with their doors locked. I might have passed the neighborhood over too, if it wasn’t for one word, TWAIN.