Rows

I would bet the whole interior was like ( Pew )

No graffiti or vandalism. Very nice. Just beautiful, natural decay. It doesn't get better than this.

The building is allowed to age with dignity.

Well put AD. But its sad that it is being allowed to age isn't it.

the pews really put the size of this church in perspective.

Can you imagine sitting in one of those pews (when the place was in better condition of course!)...you would feel SO tiny and insignificant with all that grandness around you. Wow.

that church must have been hard to heat in the winter

Makes me think of all the people who went there every Sunday. That was their "everyday (week?) existence", and we'll never know them, and they'll never know us. Wonder where they are now, and what they're doing. Now expand that thought to all of the other buildings on this site (or on the planet) and all the people who spent their daily lives at work or living there (also include all the buildings that don't exist anymore, built and gone long before any of us was born), then try to think of the endless number of lives and the sheer Variety of situations and events in those lives, all completely different than every others. Then, just for kicks, expand that to try to imagine every life ever lived, from birth to death, that ever happened in the history of humanity......makes my brain hurt a little.

Agreed...I always think of the poor bastard whos job it was to mop the floors everynight, take out the trash, fix burned out lights...etc etc....I wonder what they would say if they saw "their" buildings now. They're probably rolling in their graves.

This is an incredible gallery, but I think this and the picture of the steeple viewed through the window of the other are my favorites. It's a vanished way of life -- and what are we replacing it with?

I've driven by this church a lot. The saddest part of the whole thing is how bad the whole neighborhood surrounding it has become. I never knew the area as anything but run down, and it's still getting worse. That's one of the main reasons the church is in as bad of shape as it is. Nobody's been able to look after it.
That part of the city was an old Polish neighborhood, extremely Catholic. Those people left for other parts of the country or the suburbs. There are a lot of old churches in that part of town, you can go down the street a few blocks one way and there are 2 old former catholic churches literally within a stones throw from each other. They were the result of a schism in the local Polish catholic church, and they used to compete for members. Now they are united as part of a mosque.

nvusofmotts, You are right. Regardless of your faith or beliefs this building has a historical significance simply because of its architectural design. When other lifes are considered, joyous occasions, weddings, and sadly funerals everything you posted is true.

love the light in the window