Transfiguration Church (Cleveland)

Trinity Baptist Church was organized in March 1873 with Rev. F. Tolhurst as the first pastor.{{cite news|title=Thirteenth Anniversary|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 19, 1886|page=9}} The church dedicated its first building on Fullerton Street (at the intersection with Wood Street) on February 13, 1876.{{cite news|title=In and About the City|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 14, 1876|page=4|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Jennie Watkins|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 28, 1894|page=8}}

In February 1892, Trinity Baptist Church purchased two lots on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Fullerton Street for $8,565 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|8565|1892|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).{{cite news|title=To Buy Two Lots|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 24, 1892|page=8}} Fundraising to erect the new structure took eight years. In 1910, the church hired F.S. Barnum & Co., a local architectural firm, to design the new structure. The church was in the English Gothic architectural style,{{cite news|last=O'Malley|first=Michael|title=Fire Hits Catholic Church; Damage Put at $500,000|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 19, 1990|page=B4}} made of red brick with buff stone trim. The nave was designed as a bowl, with seating in pews for 550 people. The rear wall of the chancel was actually a sliding door. When opened, an additional 500 seats could be added in the social hall behind the chancel. The chancel contained a significant space for both the choir and the organ. The structure had an unfinished basement, and a two-story Sunday School classroom building was attached. The total cost of the building was $20,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|20000|1900|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).{{cite news|title=New Trinity Baptist Church|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 4, 1900|page=10}} Construction began in July 1900,{{cite news|title=Building Permits|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 20, 1900|page=7}} and the church was dedicated on September 15, 1901.{{cite news|title=Church Dedication|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 13, 1901|page=10|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Will Dedicate Church|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 15, 1901|page=10}} The final cost of the building was $30,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|30000|1901|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).{{cite news|title=Debt Goes Up In Smoke|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 3, 1906|page=9}}

A Spiritualist church purchased the old Trinity Baptist structure, which completely renovated the building. It opened as the First Spiritualist Temple (and first Spiritualist church in Cleveland) on October 1, 1905.{{cite news|title=Temple to Be Dedicated to Spiritualism|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 30, 1905|page=2|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=First Temple Dedicated|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 2, 1905|page=10}}

Trinity Baptist Church incurred a mortgage of $7,500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|7500|1901|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) to complete its new building. The church paid off the mortgage in April 1906, which included a $2,500 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2500|1906|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) donation from John D. Rockefeller. The congregation raised another $3,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000|1906|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) which it used to install an organ in June 1906.

In the late 1930s and the early 1940s, the neighborhood around Trinity Baptist Church began to decline due to rapid industrialization and the construction of several nearby steel mills. Trinity Baptist saw a steady decline in membership, dipping to just 670 members by 1942. The church agreed to merge with Garfield Heights Baptist Church in the nearby suburb of Garfield Heights, Ohio, which had a large, new structure. In April 1943, Trinity Baptist Church sold its building to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland for $35,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|35000|1943|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).{{cite news|title=$111,000 Pledged to Baptist Fund|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 6, 1943|page=15}}

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland erected Transfiguration Parish on July 30, 1943. The parish was divided from nearby Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus parishes. Reverend Joseph F. Zabawa was named the pastor of the new congregation, which took up residence in the Trinity Baptist Church building.{{cite news|title=Lakewood Parish Will Mark 40th Year Tomorrow|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 31, 1943|page=8}}

Transfiguration Church served Slavic Village's Polish community, with services conducted in Polish. In time, the church was enlarged to seat 950, and a convent was built.{{cite news|last=Thoma|first=Pauline|title=Slavic Landmark Hears Last Mass|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 17, 1992|page=C6}}{{Efn|There was also a rectory, but it is unclear if this was built prior to the Catholic ownership or after.}}

The continuing job and population losses among blue-collar workers in the area around Slavic Village left 40 percent of the area's housing stock abandoned and demolished.{{cite news|last=Andrzejewski|first=Thomas|title=Cure Aimed at Abandoned Houses|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 24, 1984|page=A6}} By 1989, housing foreclosure rates in the area reached 35 percent, causing runaway neighborhood decline.{{cite news|last=Bier|first=Thomas|title=Redlining Here: Yes and No|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 30, 1989|page=B3}} Attendance at Transfiguration declined to about 700, which led the diocese to close the church's elementary school in the spring of 1990.{{cite news|last=Rutti|first=Ronald|title=Diocesan Plan Tries to Stem Drop in School Enrollment|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 29, 1990|pages=B1, B7}}

On October 19, 1990, faulty wiring in a dropped ceiling in the basement of the church{{cite news|title=Faulty Wiring Blamed for Blaze at Church|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 21, 1990|page=B6}} that broke out at 5:35 AM. The intense fire burned a hole in the roof and destroyed the basement, choir loft, organ, nave, and several stained glass windows. The classroom building was untouched. The chancel was largely spared, allowing the Eucharistic chalice, tabernacle, and many vestments to survive.

Damage to the building was estimated at $500,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500000|1990|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars). Although both nearby St. Stanislaus and Immaculate Heart of Mary churches provided worship space to the parishioners of Transfiguration Church, attendance at Transfiguration's masses dwindled. Transfiguration later held mass in a classroom in its closed elementary school, but attendance continued to decline and reached only 100 by 1992. The diocese determined that the cost of repairing the church would exceed the insurance payment, no priest could be found to take over at Transfiguration,{{cite news|title=Final Mass Slated Nov. 8 at Transfiguration Church|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 10, 1992|page=D9}} and the church was running a deficit of $5,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|5000|1992|r=1}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) a month. After consulting with a parish task force,{{cite news|last=Holland|first=Darrell|title=150 Parishioners Bid Farewell|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 9, 1992|page=B2}} the diocese suppressed the parish on January 1, 1992.{{cite web|author=Diocese of Cleveland. Secretariat of Clergy and Religious|authorlink=Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland|title=Transfiguration (Cleveland)|url=http://clevelandclergyandreligious.com/directory.php?type=1&id=421|work=Directory|location=Cleveland, OH|publisher=Diocese of Cleveland|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118153552/http://clevelandclergyandreligious.com/directory.php?type=1&id=421|archivedate=18 January 2015|url-status=live|accessdate=25 November 2012}} Bishop Anthony Pilla announced the closure in October 1992.

The final mass at Transfiguration was held on November 8, 1992. Salvaged items from the church were dispersed to other Catholic churches and organizations, and insurance proceeds and other funds given to nearby diocesan churches.

{{Portal|Catholicism}}

• Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus
• Immaculate Heart of Mary Church

;Notes

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;Citations

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{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland|state=collapsed}}

Category:Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Ohio

Category:Christian organizations established in 1943

Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1901

Category:20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

Category:Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland

Category:Roman Catholic churches in Cleveland

Category:Polish-American culture in Ohio

Category:Polish-American culture in Cleveland

Category:Demolished churches in Ohio

Category:1992 disestablishments in Ohio

Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1993