In the fourth of our five part series on churches in Cleveland, we look at two abandoned church buildings, the buildings still exist but the people no longer worship there – First Methodist Church in midtown and Zion United Church of Christ in Tremont.
First Methodist Church was dedicated in 1905. It is a Gothic-inspired church and was designed by J. Milton Dyer, who also designed Cleveland City Hall and the Cleveland Athletic Club building downtown. The congregation merged with another Methodist church in the University Circle area in 2010. The building which is on the National Historic Registry, is currently empty and is up for sale.
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. Today the building is being renovated into apartments.
There are many abandoned church buildings across the country, some will be restored and come to life again as a church, others will sit in disrepair and others will find new lives as something totally different.
Tours of Cleveland, LLC offers exciting and educational walking tours of beautiful and historic downtown Cleveland. Our Cleveland From the Inside tour on Mondays, includes a visit inside the Old Stone Church on Public Square and a look at its four Tiffany stained glass windows. See our schedule and book your tour at www.toursofcleveland.com.