Tag Archives: church

Alexian Brothers Novitiate

Photo: All that remains of the Alexian Brothers Novitiate.

The well-to-do widow of lawyer F. M. Peters, Mrs. Jennie Peters, dearly loved her daughter. In the latter portion of the 1930’s architects John King and Gordon Feldhausen were tasked with creating a unique building just for her. Unlike the farmhouses, barns, and silos typical for the Gresham, WI community this structure would be designed around a single individual. The expansive home surrounded by trees along the banks of the Red River would provide much needed respite to Jennie’s disabled daughter Jane.

Unfortunately Jane would never set foot in the house. She passed away just six weeks after construction began.

Undeterred by the unfortunate events, Mrs. Peters made the mansion in the quiet rural community her home. When completed the stone Georgian colonial building featured 20 rooms. On the first floor the were the drawing room, library, guest room, dining room, kitchen, pantry and laundry. The second floor had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and four rooms for the maids. A nearby four car garage also had quarters above it. The total cost of the property amounted to $250,000 (or approximately $3.9 million adjusting for inflation).

Photo: One of the few remaining beautiful architectural flairs in an otherwise empty mansion.

Although Jennie was able to assimilate into the community there were rumors that one day she would give the property away. The rumor bore truth in 1950 when Jennie gifted the 232-acre estate to the Alexian Brothers Novitiate. Shortly thereafter novices preparing for service to the Catholic church moved to the novitiate to begin their training. A $1.5 million (about $12 million today) facility named Peters Hall was built adjacent to the mansion to serve the growing number of faculty, staff, and novices.

The novitiate struggled to keep pace with the edicts of the Second Vatican Council, which required its religious orders provide a college level education to novices. This meant that novices had to travel 55 miles to St. Norbert’s College in De Pere, WI. The commute proved to be time-consuming, expensive, and as anyone who has driven through Wisconsin in the middle of winter knows, dangerous at times. The decision was made in 1968 to relocate the novitiate to Chicago.

In the following years the property received no substantial bids when placed on the market. In 1974 negotiations were in motion with the Green Bay Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council to convert the novitiate into a rehabilitation center. Those plans came to a screeching halt around midnight on New Year’s Eve. The caretaker Joe Plonka, his wife, two children, and two friends were awoken by armed members of the Menominee Warrior Society seizing control of the novitiate buildings. The Menominee Warrior Society began their occupation of the property claiming that the lands rightfully belonged to their tribe.

With experienced Vietnam veterans in their midst the Menominee Warrior Society quickly secured their foothold. In response local, state, and federal agents quickly descended upon the area. Electricity and telephone service for the novitiate were cut. A perimeter with guarded checkpoints around the area were erected. Tensions ran high as shots were frequently exchanged between the occupiers and government officials. The Menominee Warrior Society’s goals were clear in their negotiations with their motto “deed or death.”

Photo: The top of the mansion where Menominee Warrior Society members kept watch.

Seeking to avoid bloodshed the Alexian Brothers Novitiate sold the property to the Menominee Tribe for $1. On February 3, 1975 the members of the Menominee Warrior Society willingly turned themselves over to the National Guard. The 34 day standoff ended with no major injuries between the Menominee Warrior Society and officials. The ordeal could have ended a lot sooner as Menominee Warrior Society general Mike Sturdevant later admitted that they ran out of ammunition on January 4.

As per the negotiated agreement the Menominee Tribe would have to make a “good faith” effort to reimburse the novitiate $750,000 for the property. They were unable to afford upkeep on the facility and ceded control back to the Alexian Brothers Novitiate after just five months. The novitiate fielded several proposals from potential new occupants, but nothing substantial ever materialized.

On the morning of October 11, 1975 the neighbors adjacent to the novitiate noticed smoke billowing above the trees. Due to a dense fog a fire raged for hours within the mansion. Responders to the scene described the inside as a total loss.

After the suspected arson the property changed hands several times. The remaining structures fell into disrepair after decades of neglect. Frequent break-ins and vandalism hastened its decline. In 2003 everything but the mansion was torn down. Some of the land has since been parceled out, though the main property with the gutted mansion remains.

Video (source): J. Patrick Rick’s documentary “The Abbey & Me.”

Resources:

Alexian Brothers – Comprehensive history of the Alexian Brothers Novitiate estate in Gresham, WI.

Google News – April 13, 1941 Milwaukee Journal article describing the origins of the mansion.

Google News – January 2, 1975 Milwaukee Journal article on the Menominee Warrior Society occupation.

Google News – February 4, 1975 News and Courier article on the history of the Alexian Brothers.

Google News – March 17, 1975 Milwaukee Journal article on the lack of ammunition.

Google News – October 13, 1975 Lewiston Daily Sun article on the fire in the mansion.

Wikipedia – Entry for Alexian Brothers Novitiate

YouTube – J. Patrick Rick’s documentary “The Abbey & Me.”

American Urbex E.24 – Kelly McClung / Altered

Kely McClung talks about his upcoming film Altered, the challenges of indie filmmaking, and the creative forces that drive him.

Altered – Official Website
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Altered – Facebook Page

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The Congregant

Photo: The American Urbex author at an abandoned church in the south side of Chicago.

American Urbex E.07 – More Interviews at United Methodist Church

Two more fellow urban explorers sit down to record their experiences for the American Urbex Podcast. This episode was recorded in the abandoned United Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana.

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Nick Forslund – Flickr

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American Urbex E.06 – Interview at United Methodist Church in Gary, IN

Three fellow urban explorers sit down to record their experiences for the American Urbex Podcast. This episode was recorded in the abandoned United Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana.

Subscribe to the American Urbex Podcast on iTunes or download the episode directly.

Rick Drew – Dive the Bucaneer and Flickr

Charles Dastodd – Flickr

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Urbex Methodology 101 – Google It

Every week American Urbex receives requests from adventurous readers regarding locations. Although well-composed and spell-checked prose is always flattering, the requests go largely unfulfilled. At the bottom of each feature article there is a list of online resources. Maps and photos help create a compelling article, but the real gold is in the public information that supports it. The short answer as to why location requests go unanswered is simple: Google it.

Granted, that may come off as short-tempered and cliché, but the long answer is more nuanced. The genesis of an American Urbex article begins with Google. Consider this article a lesson in Urbex Methodology 101. Today we’ll be talking about some of the basic methods for finding urbex locations with Google. Yes, this will be on the exam. Let’s begin.

Photo: The urban explorer congregation regularly meets at this famous Gary landmark.

Let’s take a well-known and previously researched location like the United Methodist Church in Gary, IN. The church is considered a mecca of sorts for urban explorers. Mainstream photographers have even embraced the location and use it to shoot wedding photos. There is a lot of information out there so for the purposes of this exercise it will be easy. A basic search for “United Methodist Church Gary Indiana” returns about 196,000 results. Open some of the links in new tabs and you’ll come across wonderful resources. Check out this photographer’s impressions of the site, which was posted in April 2011. Sites like these give you a good impression of what to expect when visiting. The date is also extremely important too as it gives a good indication that the building is still standing. There is nothing worse than driving a long distance only to discover the building is collapsed or under active demolition. Pages such as the 1967 church directory are a wealth of information the tell the story of how the church began, what it looked like in its prime, and who some of the members were. Then there is the Wikipedia page for Gary, Indiana that mentions the church. The Wikipedia entry does not specifically say where the church is, but it does provide a vital clue in that it is downtown and not far from another abandoned building known as Union Station.

Union Station is a great example of how one urbex location usually means that there are more in the vicinity. The Wikipedia page for Union Station explicitly lists the GPS coordinates on the right side of the page. Figuring out where the church is should not be too difficult if we plug (41°36’20.3N” 87°20’13.07″W) into Google Maps with satellite view. Scroll slightly to the south and west a few blocks and there it is, right in the heart of downtown Gary. If you enter street view you can see the building from the outside. This gives you a good indication of how to enter a location, what is in the neighborhood, and many other clues about what to expect. Also pay close attention to the details on the roof of the church and look for similar style roofs near by. There are a decent number of similar roofs down Broadway. If you inspect Broadway with street view you will notice the decaying Post Office and other retail stores that have long been abandoned.

Knowing the neighborhood topography is useful, but it also helps to know the history. Invariably you will come across people in the neighborhood who are curious about what you are doing there. It helps to arm yourself with a little knowledge about the location and prove that you are a respectful guest. Google Books is an excellent resource for familiarizing yourself with a location and the role it played in the broader community. Books like Gary’s West Side provide key facts and photos of locations. Tomes such as City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana chronicle the rise and fall of what was once one of America’s strongest industrial cities. Armed with this information you will gain insight on what to look for when going through the city.

Now that you have googled to the point where you are confident enough to explore the streets of Gary, the key is going to be making both intellectual and personal connections with that information. You need to get out there and explore the world. Most importantly, you need to share what you have discovered.

That’ll be all for today’s Urbex Methodology lesson as we’ve come to the end of the hour.

King James Jesse Strang

On July 8, 1850 James Jesse Strang was crowned King. To this day he holds the illustrious honor of being the only person crowned as a monarch on United States soil. Six years later he was shot in broad daylight in front of apathetic witnesses.

Let’s rewind…

In February, 1844 Strang becomes a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints and is personally baptized by founder Joseph Smith, Jr. Within a month Strang is recognized by the church as an Elder and dispatched by Smith to Wisconsin to create a Mormon settlement. The settlement in Voree, Wisconsin is located just west of Burlington in the southeastern part of the state. On June 27 Smith is murdered by an anti-Mormom mob. The homicide creats a power vacuum within the church with three individuals each claiming leadership; Bringham Young, Sidney Rigdon, and James Jesse Strang.

Up to this point Strang’s story appears to be a quintessential early American story. A young man moves west to find his place in the world, adopts religion, and becomes a prominent community figure. This is where things turn weird.

Photo: The Strangite church located in Voree, WI appropriately on Mormon Road.

Strang, being the deeply religious and righteous man that he is, forges a letter supposedly from church founder Smith stating that Strang is to be the successor. To further his claims Strang provides evidence that Voree is to be the next chosen Mormon settlement. In 1945 Strang is guided by an angel to discover three small gold plates buried in the ground. The plates have text etched into them that only Strang can translate. The Voree Record supposedly affirm Strang’s ascendance in the church and reveal God’s plan for the Mormons.

Although ambitious, Strang doesn’t get any points for originality. The whole “finding gold plates and revealing God’s plan” was exactly what church founder Smith claimed years before. Strang’s life is about to get a whole lot stranger.

Brigham Young is eventually chosen to be the head of the Mormon church. Strang decides to break off and form his own sect, which still survive to this day as the Strangites. As non-Mormons moved into the area Strang made the decision to move his followers to Beaver Island, Michigan in June 1848.

No wait… it gets even better.

In 1849 Strang took a secret second wife Elvira Field. Strang concealed their relationship by passing his buxom new bride off as a man named Charles Douglass. The ruse was so convincing that her own family believed her to be missing.

Like all things American, Strang decides to up the ante even further. He’s kind of like Scarface, only with religion instead of cocaine.

In 1850 Strang is crowned “King of the Kingdom of God on Earth.” The ever expanding congregation was able to take control of the island’s raw material and commercial resources. Friction between the gentile population increased when Strang demanded gentiles pay a tithe to the church. Physical skirmishes broke out when the church prevented alcohol from being shipped to the island. After the “War of Whiskey Point” most of the gentile population of Beaver Island moved.

Polygamy is wholeheartedly embraced after Strang takes a third wife in 1852. After this he mandates that all Strangite men have at least two. Wives four and five join the Strang family in 1855.

Word of King Strang’s abberant behavior eventually reaches President Fillmore, who then opens a jar of pickled whup-ass on Strang. Or so he thinks. The USS Missouri is dispatched to bring Strang and his followers to trial for tax irregularities, harvesting from public lands, delaying mail service and counterfitting. Strang, acting as his own lawyer, is able to beat the federal government in open court. He then returns with his followers back to his Beaver Island kingdom.

So King Strang returns victorious and is viewed as a hero by his congregation. Things start to fall apart when the fearless leader brutalizes one of his subjects.

In 1856 King Strang orders David Bedford to be lashed 79 times for allegedly sleeping with his business partner’s wife. The punishment is doled out swiftly and deeply enrages Bedford. Bedford convinces a group of 40 men to ambush Strang on the shores of Beaver Island. During the confrontation Strang is shot three times; one bullet grazes his head, one goes through his cheek, and the last bullet lodges itself in his spine. The group of men then board the docked USS Michigan, where they set off for nearby Mackinac Island. The conspirators are given a mock trial, fined $1.25, and are released.

A dying King Strang is placed as soon as possible on a vessel back to Voree, Wisconsin. He dies from his injuries three weeks later on July 9, 1856. Four of Strang’s five wives are pregnant at the time of his death. He is buried in the Burlington Cemetery shortly thereafter.

The King is dead. Long live the King.

Photo: King Strang’s marker is almost indistinguishable from the rest in the cemetery.

City Methodist Church

Photo: City United Methodist Church around 1955 (source).

Photo: Current view of City Methodist Church.

Gary City Methodist is described in it’s own history as an imperfect house of God. The cornerstone was laid in 1925, but rising building costs caused plans to change during construction. The US Steel corporation donated 50% of the $650,000 price tag for construction. ($650,000 in 1925 would be ~$7.8 million today adjusting for inflation.) To alleviate costs the windows were not entirely completed with stained glass. Measurement errors also prevented the church from being as large as originally planned. The large pillars supporting the balcony decrease the amount of floor space available for pews. The rest of the columns built after this oversight are smaller. (Source: How Our Church Began)

Photo: View of the church Sanctuary (where the altar is) in 1967 (source).

Photo: The Sanctuary still whispers of God’s glory.

City Methodist’s flock of worshippers were graced with a progressive pastor who held that people of any color were God’s Creation. Pastor William Seaman invited African-Americans into his congregation at a time where blacks where not welcome in “white churches.” Pastor Seaman took also public stand against racism in Indiana and was able to prevent the screening of Birth of a Nation, a film that glorifies to Ku Klux Klan.

Photo: Taken by Nick Forslund.

At its height the church had about 3000 members, but by 1973 it only had 300. In 1975 the church closed its doors to the congregation and the property was sold to Indiana University. IU did not utilize the property and today it is owned by the city of Gary. The church was populated briefly by another congregation in the 1980’s. The Great Gary Arson of 1997 destroyed much of the building, in particular the third floor gymnasium roof. In 2009 the building was used to film the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. The church was also used in August 2010 as a location for Transformers 3. Demolition efforts sporadically arise and immediately fizzle out as the city of Gary struggles to find funds.

Photo: Take a seat and have a long chat with God.

We arrived at City Methodist first thing in the morning on a Saturday and the church was already populated with photographers. There were even professional photographers using the church as a backdrop for wedding photos. The entire wedding party mulled about as the bride and groom captured the moment. The bride even climbed several flights of dirt covered stairs and through tight spaces with her wedding dress hiked up. The whole experience was quite surreal. I had become accustomed to the isolation that urbex provides in densely populated cities. City Methodist Church was originally built to be a community center with its large auditorium, storefronts, gymnasium and school. Despite being closed the church was still very much an active community center.

Photo: Seating in the auditorium balcony.

Photo: Taken by slworking2.

The other photographers who were there talked about how the next week the location was going to be used to shoot Transformers 3. There was concern that after the shoot the filmmakers would finance the demolition of the building. The city of Gary was paid a grand total of $1,550 for the rights to shoot at City Methodist… I don’t think demolition is going to happen any time soon. Given the volume of off the street visitors to this location it is only a matter of time before statistically someone seriously hurts themselves. I am glad I had a chance to visit it before its inevitable demise. It really was a beautiful building, but something about it’s popularity did not sit right with me.

Resources:

1967 City Methodist Church Directory has photos of church members.

Fantastic gallery of b&w photos of City Methodist in its prime.

Information about the Skinner Organ at City Methodist.

Historic Buildings of Gary, Indiana has some great winter photos.

Video taken inside of City Methodist.

Mention on io9.com.

Transformers 3 article on nwi.com.

Nightmare on Elm Street article on nwi.com.

Brad Gillete’s Flickr Set

Slworking2’s Flickr Set