San Sofia - Tours of Cleveland, LLC

I took a tour the other week of the new San Sofia apartments in Tremont. You may think, okay. But the thing that really sets this apartment building apartment apart is the fact that it is built inside an old church and its adjoining school building.

The San Sofia from the outside today — The old Zion UCC Church today

Back in August 2018, I did a series of blog posts on churches in Cleveland and included some buildings that were no longer being used as churches, this included Zion United Church of Christ in Tremont. At that time they had announced plans for the conversion but had not started work.

Church History

Zion United Church of Christ traces its history back to 1867 when a group of German families started the church. The current structure was completed in 1885. Services were exclusively in German until 1916. The church has a 175 foot steeple, that is visible for miles. Even though the church sold the building for this project, a small congregation still remains and has worship space in the church school building.

Apartments Today

When you enter San Sofia through the front doors of the old church there are apartments on your left and right. These apartments contain the original staircases that would have taken congregants up to the mezzanine level. They also contain the original stained glass windows from the front of the church.

Stairs leading to the mezzanine and the original stained glass windows — Stairs originally leading to the mezzanine, now to the master bedroom.

The middle of the sanctuary is a hallway that serves as the entrance to the apartments in the sanctuary portion of the building. Pieces of stained glass that have been removed from the windows on the north and south sides of the building are incorporated into the design here. The original chandeliers have been cleaned and hang in this space as well.

The old sanctuary of the church. — Removed stained glass above the doors in the hallway.

In the apartments where the stained glass has been removed from part of the windows to allow natural light and the ability to open those windows, parts of the original stained glass still remain. Through out the apartments pieces of the supports that held up the mezzanine pop out!

The top of the window contains the original stained glass — Each apartment in the sanctuary contains some original stained glass.

The ornate top of the support beam. — These pop up throughout the design of the apartments

The school house building contains the original windows that have been restored in the apartments and many exposed beams that support the roof as well as some of the original painted brick from the classrooms.

An apartment in the old school house building — Some of the windows in the old school house building looking across to the church.

There are 25 unique floor plans and prices range from $1,000 to $2,490 for these one and two bedroom apartments. I want to thank Jeff for my tour. Feel free to check out the San Sofia site for more information on rentals.

Guided Walking Tours

Tours of Cleveland, LLC offers year round and special seasonal guided walking tours of downtown Cleveland. New for October 2020, our Tales of Terror tour! Learn more, see our schedule and book online at www.toursofcleveland.com.