From Cleveland-
The Euclid Avenue Church of God and the former Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration sit empty on this city's former Millionaires' Row, remnants of a heyday when mansions marched east from downtown.
Their congregations have fled. And historic preservationists fear that both churches will disappear, too, swallowed up by the nearby Cleveland Clinic's appetite for land.
The churches say they have no money (or congregations) for upkeep, and the world-renowned hospital says it has no need for churches. Which begs the question: what happens to architectural gems that no one can afford to maintain?
The Cleveland Restoration Society is pitting itself against the health care giant -- the city's largest employer -- over the fate of the dilapidated churches at the edge of the hospital's main campus.
The clinic has offered to pay $500,000 for the land beneath the landmarked Euclid Avenue Church of God; the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio has put the neighboring Transfiguration up for sale for $1.9 million.
Real estate insiders say both sites would make sense for parking or commercial development. The property owners see a chance to unload unwanted buildings to a deep-pocketed buyer. But two city boards have rejected a request from the Euclid Avenue Church of God to demolish its building, a city landmark. And the Restoration Society is trumpeting that the clinic should use its muscle and money to remake both churches.
More here-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/cleveland-churches-for-sale_n_1242814.html
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