photographs of abandoned places #39

St. Mark United Presbyterian

 

This is a Google street view foto from August 2009. There were others available, this one had the best light. Have been past this church many times, yesterday was the first time i stopped. The property north, and north east is a library. I had a book to drop off.

My foto, 10 October 2022. Front doors boarded up, last year they were not.

This side faces Superior.  Weed tree has grown high, and much ivy covers most of the window. Perhaps there is a scene in the center, not visible now from the outside. Tree took years to get this high, must have been there while church was in use. When a church passes ownership from an established denomination, and congregation that built it, to another that sees a building that is worth much more than the going price, maintenance is often deferred or ignored. As neighbourhoods in America decline, and overall church attendance decreases, and an established congregation quits a location, the new organisation is too weak, small, and/or poor to last long. Also, to ruffle feathers, the character of the leadership of such enterprises is not always capable, or ethical. Someone dreams to be a religious leader, and gives himself a title, and often has not had formal study or training, wants a building. Sometimes the object is to be an entrepreneur. What sort of identifying term would the religious enterprise be called? independent? non-denominational? Often, that means Baptist or Pentecostal.

There is glass, and stone tracery underneath  the ivy.

The side of the church opposite the side that faces Superior, has an apartment building a few feet away, and gets less light for vegetation growth.

High up that side of the church, Jesus carrying a lantern is visible. Jesus, the Light of the World, was a popular subject a century plus ago.

Above that window, there is a partial collapse. I read Famicos Foundation wanted to remodel the building as St. Marks Family Center. Do not know if that is a go, or possible now. There is missing brick elsewhere, missing mortar, compromised windows (probably by prior tenants for air conditioners, or hoses, or vents).

So much of the corner stone has chipped away, that there is no clue to the church's original name. It was St. Mark United Presbyterian, built in 1911 at 1319 East Boulevard; before the Cultural Gardens, before World War I. No clue to subsequent owners either.

The last occupant, Community Garden of Prayer [Pentecostal], posts are there, sign is not.

sunday in the park, and elsewhere

Upper Edgewater

 Cleveland sign & Wagner statue, reversed left & right

 

front yard burial on Clifton

Old Brooklyn home made sign

"OK, finished with the camera? Get in the car."

2022 Miscellany #13

while walking the hounds in Old Brooklyn

ghost sign

This picture show surrendered a long time ago, Old Brooklyn Cleveland line.

#HouseOnClifton either spooky season began, or the Repukes have gotten rid of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).

Cleveland, steel mill, West 14th/Jennings traffic circle, 22 August

the song was wrong...

 there is surf in Cleveland

Edgewater Beach Cleveland Sunday morning

quotation marks

Edgewater Pier

[this is post № 2,000]

museum of base ball

 

Akron Black Stockings, Smithville Stars, Whiskey Island Shamrocks at League Park Cleveland; Our Lady of Fatima across Lexington

Original field was for the Cleveland Spiders of the National League in 1891.

Actually, got some good shots to snap. I was near, and did some anticipation of action. The outer band of Hurricane Ian's clouds made for little light, and the camera did not compensate.

The ball was soft, and did not travel far. First baseman records an out. This was on the fly, using older rules, an out it would still have been if caught on the first bounce. The game was played very rapidly, no time for commercial advertisements. Game was scheduled for seven innings, during the game they decided to play for nine. Old rules allowed for this. They played on carpet though.

Akron 4, Smithville 3, and handshakes thereafter.

The museum had a replica of  Roberto Clemente's Cangrejeros de Santurce (Crabbers) uniform.

 some Negro League uniforms

The conference room had giant painted baseball cards.

beasts of the earth

 

Cassius sniffs at Chase in the parking lot of Our Lady of Fatima Cleveland.  

We had parked across the street to walk our hounds, and view base ball.  The parish campus neighbours League Park. We saw the church doors open, and stuff ready for a blessing. Now, of course the greyhounds are Catholic, and we wanted then blessed. They have gotten blessed before. It was a surprise, that it was available to-day.

Fr. James Watson, OFM Cap., new pastor of the parish, reads from Genesis about the animals created for the earth. "And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good." Mostly there were very small dogs there to hear Scripture. Father James noticed no cats, nor a snake.

Blessing

Barberton, Wadsworth

This weekend past, Barberton Ohio held their annual mum fest.

There is always a floral arch.

In a tightly packed white stripe of flowers, an opportunistic plant snuck in.

Part of this year's theme was a salute to the armed forces. The sand sculptor had a less elaborate creation this year. Many people do not appreciate joking substitution 'farce' for 'force'.

In nearby Wadsworth, there is a fountain with plaques of wars that the United States participated in. During a festival,celebrated the past match making industry, a very tall match stands nearby.

In an alley, there are murals remembering the Apollo moon landings.

front and top of the VFW hall

tops of nearby buildings

ghost sign for pop

great global greyhound walk 2022 Cleveland

Part of the group grouping at Edgewater Beach House for a group foto. This is an international event first organised in England and Scotland in 2010, and since then spreading to other countries [click] Part of the reason is to publicly show how great it is to have a greyhound. In several of the English speaking countries there is an excess of homeless/discarded hounds from racetracks. The industry makes losing dogs redundant. In Spain, galgos (hounds) are hanged, or abandoned after hunting season.

The walk was continued to the Cleveland sign. Altogether, 23 hounds participated.

Karma was a tiny bit thirsty. She was lucky, there are very few functioning water fountains in this county, perhaps this country. Nestle, Coca-Cola, and others want everyone to buy their bottled water. The country obliges them in their pursuit of commerce, free water is considered something akin to communism.

photographs of abandoned places #38

Nelsonville Brick Park

Southeast Ohio has hills, and beneath the top soil there is clay, and coal. After the War for the Preservation of the Union, industry and building expanded. In Athens County which has county government, and the first college in the Old Northwest, the second town is Nelsonville. The region had several brick, and block making villages, and towns. This is inside a ruined kiln. [foto:jz]

Nelsonville Brick Company began in 1870s, this is an 1880 expansion. Nelsonville had a few different brickyards. Nelsonville Block got first prize at St. Louis World Fair in 1904. What made the bricks superior was a salt glaze applied during firing. Indianapolis Speedway is called the "Brickyard". In 1909 it was paved with Nelsonville pavers, it had opened earlier in the year as a mostly dirt track. . In the years that followed concrete sidewalks and streets, and asphalt paving overtook bricks. Bricks were no longer produced in Nelsonville after 1937. Some of the kilns were used to make charcoal, and that went bust in 1971.

In 1980, the three remaining kilns became the center of a park. Since then they have deteriorated. Water damage, and a falling tree intervened.

This gate is no longer attached.

There is a rectangular chimney, and a round one. At the bottom of the kilns an exhaust path lead up into the chimneys. [foto:jz]

from the bottom of the chimney looking up