TIMELINE1883: Church for Episcopals, Methodists and Presbyterians founded1886: Land donated for building at St. Elmo Avenue and 42nd Street1887: Building occupied, now is home to Seventh-day Adventist Church of St. Elmo1921: Cornerstone laid for a Methodist church at the corner of St. Elmo Avenue and 47th2009: Fire guts the churchSource: St. Elmo United Methodist Church.
The old pipe organ at St. Elmo United Methodist Church could send vibrations through the floor, rattling windows and souls alike.
Standing in the roofless, charred remnants of the 90-year-old church’s sanctuary last week, the Rev. Mark Dowell remembers giving sermons while telling organist Scott Medley to crank it up.
“Oh man, I miss that old organ,” Dowell said, standing in what used to be his pulpit. “It will be great to do that again.”
A brick shell is all that remains of the church at the corner of St. Elmo Avenue and West 47th Street. What wasn’t burned out during an August 2009 electrical fire was ravaged by water used in fighting the fire and exposure to rain and the elements.