Old St George church in Clifton was Built as a Roman Catholic church by the St. George Parish in 1873 for just $80,000, it seated 1,200 and was designed by one of Cincinnati's most famous architects, Samuel Hannaford, who designed Music Hall and the City Hall. The Romanesque Revival building was built upon one of the highest points in the city, and was followed up by a parish school in 1914 and a parsonage and monastery in 1928.
The church was purchased from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1994 by Christian Ministries Center, a volunteer team that was led by Larry Bourgeois who turned it into a community and arts center and offices for University of Cincinnati ministry organizations.
In December 2005, Walgreens offered to buy the church for $1.6 million with the intent of demolition, which was countered with an identical offer from the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC) with the intent of saving the building, which was accepted. CHCURC began minimal repairs to the roof, followed by the repainting of the entrance foyer and work to the plumbing and electrical systems with the intent of restoring the church completely.
Around 7 PM on February 1, 2008, a fire began on the western steeple of the Old St. George church, which soon leap to the right steeple due to strong easterly winds. The two-alarm fire quickly escalated to a three-alarm fire. At 7:44 PM, the left steeple collapsed, followed by the right steeple at 7:53 PM. Fire crews were ordered to pull back as large embers and debris was littering the streets. Due to the all-wood and bronze construction of the towers, the steeples were considered a total loss. Damage did not extend beyond the towers, and most of the damage outside of the steeples were from water. CHCURC is currently in the planning stages for restoration of the steeples.
In 1951 I was baptized in Old St George church. I certainly hope the owners take heed to what has happened and restore this beautiful old building into its intended use.
God bless you and pray for our troops.
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