09-04-2019, 07:35 AM
A change of faith
In immigrant neighborhoods, many old churches are becoming mosques and Buddhist temples.
Ashima Krishna
August 31, 2019 12:29PM (UTC)
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Over the past few decades, vacant and underutilized churches have become a familiar sight in American cities.
In some cases, a congregation or a religious governing body — say, a Catholic diocese — will sell the church to developers, who then turn them into apartments, offices, art galleries, museums, breweries or performance spaces.
But what about churches in neighborhoods that arenâ€t doing well, areas that are less attractive to developers looking to turn a profit?
In Buffalo, New York, two empty Roman Catholic churches were recently converted — not into apartments or offices, but into other places of worship. One became an Islamic mosque, the other a Buddhist temple.
As an architect and historic preservation planner, I was drawn to this phenomenon. With the help of Enjoli Hall, who was then a graduate student at University at Buffalo, I interviewed those involved in converting the former churches.
With immigrant and refugee populations growing in post-industrial cities across the U.S., the conversion of vacant Christian churches into new places of worship can preserve historic architecture and strengthen burgeoning communities.
In Buffalo, a split between east and west
Buffalo has long been an immigrant gateway. From 1850 to 1900, the cityâ€s population increased by over 700%. In 1892, over one-third of Buffaloâ€s residents were foreign born. Poles, Germans and Italians settled in the city, leading to a wave of church construction. In the 1930s, African Americans started migrating from southern US to the east side of the city.
But by 2010, the cityâ€s population had dwindled to just over 260,000 people — less than half of what it was in 1950.
Nonetheless, Buffalo has recently been in the news for its efforts to overcome decades of population decline and disinvestment. In 2016, Yahoo News anchor Katie Couric, fascinated by Buffaloâ€s transformation, featured the city in her six-video series, “Cities Rising: Rebuilding America,†while The New York Times detailed the changes taking place in some of the cityâ€s neighborhoods.
This public attention, however, has mainly focused on the West Side neighborhoods, which have experienced the bulk of investment and population growth. Neighborhoods in Buffaloâ€s East Side continue to face tremendous challenges of poverty, crumbling infrastructure and abandoned houses.
According to the 2015 American Community Survey, these neighborhoods are now predominantly African American. But theyâ€ve also become home to immigrants from South Asia, along with resettled refugees from Vietnam, Central Africa and Iraq.
more ...
https://www.salon.com/2019/08/31/a-new-s...h_partner/
In immigrant neighborhoods, many old churches are becoming mosques and Buddhist temples.
Ashima Krishna
August 31, 2019 12:29PM (UTC)
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Over the past few decades, vacant and underutilized churches have become a familiar sight in American cities.
In some cases, a congregation or a religious governing body — say, a Catholic diocese — will sell the church to developers, who then turn them into apartments, offices, art galleries, museums, breweries or performance spaces.
But what about churches in neighborhoods that arenâ€t doing well, areas that are less attractive to developers looking to turn a profit?
In Buffalo, New York, two empty Roman Catholic churches were recently converted — not into apartments or offices, but into other places of worship. One became an Islamic mosque, the other a Buddhist temple.
As an architect and historic preservation planner, I was drawn to this phenomenon. With the help of Enjoli Hall, who was then a graduate student at University at Buffalo, I interviewed those involved in converting the former churches.
With immigrant and refugee populations growing in post-industrial cities across the U.S., the conversion of vacant Christian churches into new places of worship can preserve historic architecture and strengthen burgeoning communities.
In Buffalo, a split between east and west
Buffalo has long been an immigrant gateway. From 1850 to 1900, the cityâ€s population increased by over 700%. In 1892, over one-third of Buffaloâ€s residents were foreign born. Poles, Germans and Italians settled in the city, leading to a wave of church construction. In the 1930s, African Americans started migrating from southern US to the east side of the city.
But by 2010, the cityâ€s population had dwindled to just over 260,000 people — less than half of what it was in 1950.
Nonetheless, Buffalo has recently been in the news for its efforts to overcome decades of population decline and disinvestment. In 2016, Yahoo News anchor Katie Couric, fascinated by Buffaloâ€s transformation, featured the city in her six-video series, “Cities Rising: Rebuilding America,†while The New York Times detailed the changes taking place in some of the cityâ€s neighborhoods.
This public attention, however, has mainly focused on the West Side neighborhoods, which have experienced the bulk of investment and population growth. Neighborhoods in Buffaloâ€s East Side continue to face tremendous challenges of poverty, crumbling infrastructure and abandoned houses.
According to the 2015 American Community Survey, these neighborhoods are now predominantly African American. But theyâ€ve also become home to immigrants from South Asia, along with resettled refugees from Vietnam, Central Africa and Iraq.
more ...
https://www.salon.com/2019/08/31/a-new-s...h_partner/
"Hightop can reduce an entire message board of men to mudsharks. It's actually pretty funny to watch."
 In fact I think Toledo's population isn't much less than Cincy's, but with a much smaller metro area of course. Toledo has been around 300K plus since I can remember.  
