This morning the oldest church in Memphis (1st United Methodist Church) caught fire. It was built in its current location in 1893. It was completely gutted. Portions of the exterior walls remain. That's it.
The embers from that fire apparently blew with the wind to 3 other buildings in the Court Square area of downtown Memphis. The Court Square Annex, a 10 story building will have to be be demolished tomorrow. The Rhodes Jennings Building was gutted, but no one knows yet whether it can stand. The Lincoln American Tower, at 22 stories was once the tallest building in Memphis, will probably survive.
The Court Square buildings had been abandoned for a long time. My brother has been working for eight years to begin redevelopment of these buildings and has just obtained the financing, approvals, etc to go ahead with a Major construction / development project. There is adequate insurance; I am hopeful that Willie will at least not lose any money.
Thankfully, there were no injuries or deaths resulting from these fires. There's a lot to be thankful for.
Replies
6
FunnChef - AlisonCooks.com
Oh...but so sad, the history that has been lost.....
Thank you for posting
Thank you for posting
bean
Glad no one was hurt tho.
fartblossom
saw this on the news - so sad to lose a piece of history
brain
Any word yet on the cause of the fire?
Beach FanaticAuthor
They think it started in a basement kitchen of the church. Because it was a church fire, the FBI is investigating along with ATF and of course the local fire department. They remain pretty sure that the 3 court square buildings were a result of wind-borne embers.
SoWal Insider
Lovely old church, sad. This church had a mission to help the homeless and now they are homeless themselves.
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