A church steeple rises above the tree line on a bluff at the eastern end of Cleveland. Inside, as you walk along the balcony and look down into the sanctuary, there's a sense of calm…serenity. Even though it's not a church anymore.
JOHN NOTTINGHAM: The original congregation that built the church in 1930 was too small to maintain this size of a building.
John Nottingham loves to take visitors through the former First Church of Christ Scientist which he and his partner transformed into the new home of product design firm Nottingham-Spirk.
JOHN NOTTINGHAM: I think there were three electrical outlets that were working when we moved in. We put in 42 miles of internet cable.
In the world of architecture, it's known as "adaptive reuse" --- breathing a new life into an old building. One of the most extreme examples is probably the Limelight nightclub in New York City, which took over a former Episcopal church. The Cleveland Catholic Diocese has been quite clear that it will destroy a former church before allowing it to used for what the Diocese calls "profane purposes".
SOUND: Council meeting UP & UNDER
The subject of church closures has prompted some heated discussions in Cleveland City Council, recently. Noting the blight caused by boarded-up houses in her ward, Westside councilwoman Dona Brady was clearly exasperated, last week, with the potential of a sizable church complex shutting down.
DONA BRADY: The last thing I need is to have a whole block's-worth of building --- it's a school, it's a church, it's got two other buildings on the premises; I am not going to walk away and let them board-up all those buildings.
It will be in the Diocese's interest to sell their closed properties as quickly as possible. Mary Mihaly in the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office says that once a church building isn't used for religious activities anymore, it loses its tax exempt status.
MARY MIHALY: See, they have to use it for an exempt purpose to remain exempt. Just because a church owns it doesn't mean it qualifies for exemption.
County Treasurer Jim Rokakis who already has his hands full dealing with thousands of abandoned properties speculates that one likely scenario is for a number of these former churches to be transformed into upscale housing.
JIM ROKAKIS: Some sort of loft houses, for example. To the extent that there's someone interested in doing it, there is abatement. There is a ten to fifteen year abatement available on the improvements, through the city of Cleveland. There'd be some property tax paid, but not much.
There actually is an example of that in Cleveland Heights, where the former First English Lutheran Church was transformed into condos which were quickly snapped up by buyers in 2005. But, that was four years ago in a very different housing market. Another use for old church buildings is to turn them into art galleries. That's what happened to St. Josaphat Roman Catholic church on Cleveland's near east side after the neighborhood changed into a largely Asian community.
Of course, if all other measures fail, there's always the wrecking ball:
SOUND: wrecking crew
Several blocks from the former St. Josaphat's, a demolition crew is currently clearing away the last remnants of a former church that no one claimed for re-use. St. Andrew was closed last year, due to dwindling attendance. Bulldozers have rendered a neighborhood landmark...and it's history... into an empty space at the corner of East 51st and Superior. Designer John Nottingham says finding ways to preserve these old buildings is a key to the future.
JOHN NOTTINGHAM: It's sort of a metaphor for Cleveland. Cleveland has wonderful heritage, wonderful infrastructure, but how do we re-invent ourselves? We have to re-invent what we're doing for the next generation.
