CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The 48-year-old steeple of the former First Baptist Church in downtown Cleveland was removed Tuesday and will be preserved by Check Into Cash founder and CEO Allan Jones.
On Tuesday morning, a large crane lifted the tall fixture from the church tower and crews readied it for transportation to Jones’ estate on Creek Ridge.
Dozens of people on the ground recorded the event on cameras and smartphones while a Lee University video drone hovered in the air as the crane operator gently lowered the steeple to the street below.
“I want to preserve this piece of Cleveland history,” said Jones, who said he had offered to give it to the First Baptist Church, which relocated to Stuart Road in 2010.
Jones bought the old church building and donated it to Lee University in December 2012. The facility, which will serve as a music hall for the university, was named “Pangle Hall” in honor of Jones’ wife, Janie, whose maiden name is Pangle.