Preserving Tacoma's Historic Sacred Places
In early 2007, the loss of Tacoma's 1916 First United Methodist Church highlighted the struggle faced by urban ministries across the country as they try to maintain their historic structures while often faced with declining membership and decreased revenue. The loss increased the community's awareness of the challenges and opportunities in preserving the city's historic architecture.
The early years of the 20th century were the city's golden age of sacred architecture, a period which included the construction of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church (1920), the Romanesque First Presbyterian Church (1924), as well as fine neighborhood churches such as St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran (1910) founded by German brewers who lived on the Hilltop. These buildings grace their neighborhoods with their striking presence. In addition to their often monumental scale, this was an era when churches were just beginning to assemble a variety of specialized spaces under one roof, designed to serve the community far beyond Sunday services. It is a feature which, even today, makes the church adaptable to a variety of functions.
A local non-profit, Historic Tacoma, took the lessons learned from the demolition of the 1916 church and worked with local congregations, all stewards of architecturally significant structures that were facing challenges similar to those faced by the First United Methodist congregation. Discussions sought to help congregations identify the information and resources to address capital expenditures and long term building maintenance, while retaining focus on the congregation's mission in the community. The group worked for over a year to craft an ecumenical approach to the preservation and rehabilitation of these buildings.
From those conversations, Historic Tacoma initiated a project to identify, publicize and deliver public programs to increase awareness of the City's rich trove of religious architecture. Historic Tacoma received a grant from the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Washington and partnered with the City of Tacoma which obtained a state Certified Local Government grant, for total project funding of $22,000.
The first phase of the project, currently near completion, will lay the groundwork for future preservation efforts by compiling an inventory of all pre-1960 religious structures in the city. This summer, web and print publications will make the inventory findings broadly available. The project will conclude with a free open house and tour of some of the City's most architecturally significant sacred places on Sunday, October 25th, 1-5pm. In addition to opening their sanctuaries for tours, each congregation will also provide music, art and/or history programming.
For more information on the project, contact Sharon Winters at 253.761.9349 or swinters@nventure.com. Details on the open house will be posted at www.historictacoma.net
About Historic Tacoma: Historic Tacoma is a private not-for-profit grassroots organization dedicated to preserving Tacoma's architectural legacy through education and advocacy. Historic Tacoma advocates for the thoughtful preservation and rehabilitation of historic structures, sites, and neighborhoods, while urging policy makers, developers and citizens to consider the value and unique qualities of historic structures. www.historictacoma.net
Across the country, many urban ministries are struggling to maintain their historic structures, in light of declining membership and decreased revenues. A group of Tacoma congregations, all stewards of architecturally significant buildings, is facing similar challenges.
In 2006, preservationists worked with 1st United Methodist Church and MultiCare Health Systems to save and rehabilitate the architecturally significant 1916 church, which sat in the midst of the expanding MultiCare campus. In May 2006, the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission hosted a walking tour of Wright Park churches, including 1st United Methodist, to call attention to the situation. The church, named to the 2006 WA Trust Most Endangered List and now lost, was one of the first examples of monumental urban church architecture in Tacoma.
In response to the demolition of 1st United Methodist Church, in February 2007 Historic Tacoma. Recognizing that other Tacoma's are faced with seemingly insurmountable facilities and funding challenges, the group has been meeting monthly to craft an ecumenical approach to the preservation and rehabilitation of these buildings.
The on-going conversations, which have included twelve congregations to date and several neighborhood representatives, have identified the following goals:
- The larger community supports the preservation of historic churches, acknowledging their contribution to Tacoma's built environment and the urban congregation's contribution to the public good.
- Individual and collaborative efforts increase church revenues to sustain building maintenance and finance capital projects.
- Congregation members value their historic churches as assets rather than liabilities, acknowledging their value to the church's mission and to the larger community.
- The physical presence of historic churches in Tacoma neighborhoods is preserved and strengthened. Stewards of historic churches are better equipped to maintain their facilities, preserve them for future generations, and sustain financing.
Pastor Dennis Andersen, Board Member of Partners for Sacred Spaces, and Sharon Winters, Board President of Historic Tacoma facilitated early meetings. The group has grown from six to twelve participating congregations and continues to invite all interested congregations to identify a trustee, member of the clergy, or congregation representative to join the discussions. A fall lecture/ discussion series attracted members of the public and increased public awareness and appreciation for the role Tacoma's urban churches play in the city's health and vitality. Sharon Winters, Historic Tacoma, continues to organize and facilitate monthly discussions.
Current Situation:
After a year of conversations, information sharing and learning, it is time to conduct a historic resource survey and compile research so that we have a clear understanding of the resources that need to be preserved. At the conclusion of this work, the staging of a public event will call attention to the architectural and cultural significance of Tacoma's sacred places and better position the churches to address long term facilities needs in relation to their mission in the community.
Most congregations include a few committed preservationists, but many congregation members still see their historic buildings as a liability rather than an asset. Many of the congregations struggle to reach out to the community to attract the support and resources needed to, in some cases, survive much less take care of their buildings. In most cases, they lack the technical and operational expertise to be competent building stewards and are in the position of addressing short-term emergency needs rather than establishing a capital facilities plan that would allow them to identify and address long term needs. At the request of the congregations, Historic Tacoma developed and presented a 3-part lecture series during the fall of 2007 to inform and educate the group about the heritage embodied in their buildings and the practical issues they all face.
Historic Tacoma has learned that we cannot separate a congregation's mission in the community from its perspective on building stewardship. We admire holistic models, such as Historic Denver's sacred place initiative, but lack the capacity to address the issue on that scale. We believe that the compilation of existing research and data, broad publication of this information, and a community event intended to increase awareness of the situation, will set a firm foundation for further action.