How many Studebaker employees worshipped here?

[BobPalma]

You don't have to do much research around South Bend to learn of Studebaker employees who lived in Walkerton and drove to South Bend every day for their employment.

'Can't help but wonder how many of them worshipped here during the 60 years between 1903 and 1963:

http://www.indianalandmarks.org/NewsPhotos/10most/Pages/WalkertonChurch.aspx

How many of those employees and their children were married here? How many Studebakers lined the streets for those weddings...and, later, funerals?

Gee, it would be nice to have had a video cam running outside all those years and make a composite of the various events in which most, if not a majority, of the cars (and farmer's trucks!) outside were Studebakers. Given the area's demographics, it had to have happened several times. BP

[8E45E]

Your son can buy it and turn it into an upscale restaurant! I've seen that done to a number of old churches.

Craig

[BobPalma]

Your son can buy it and turn it into an upscale restaurant! I've seen that done to a number of old churches. Craig

Don't we wish, Craig.

He and his wife bought a nice home in Mt. Pleasant SC, right next to Charleston, last month. They are pretty well entrenched in Charleston; they love it. 'Can't say as we blame them, but we don't expect them back in the midwest anytime soon...probably never. BP

[aenthal]

You have to be a really eccentric millionaire to want to move to South Bend, buy an ex-church in such deteriorated condition that the town condemed it, spend how many thousands figuring out what it needs, and how many hundreds of thousands restoring or remodeling it, to do something with it afterward (such as live in it, or run a business).
South Bend, while certainly not a bad town by any measure, is pretty much a small town with a big college.
High end dining is not a big factor in college student life.
And if you have all that much money that you can toss it at a building like this, you don't need to start a business.

So you've got to be some really strange eccentric who would find the ex-church aspect of the building a personal thrill.
And you've got to think THIS church is better than the 100 others in the same jeopardy, in other towns and cities.

Personally I'd prefer an ex fire station. Bottom floor is perfect for storing or working on cars, and the top already has kitchen, working plumbing, and sleeping areas.

In a bigger city you could turn a church into a rental venue for film work, social gatherings, wedding parties, bar mitzvahs (have to remove any left over crosses, of course), company banquets, or other gatherings.
What does a church have in it but offices, classrooms, and a big auditorium?
But I don't imagine there is enough of that kind of rental needed in South Bend to compensate for the price of restoration or remodeling.

Alas, once buildings are no longer structurally sound, it is like trying to restore a car with a rotted frame.
You have to be nuts and rich to try it.

[BobPalma]

True, Andrea, but this church isn't in South Bend. It's in Walkerton, about 22 miles southwest of South Bend.

This video, forwarded through a PM from a Forum Reader, is about two weeks old. It repeatedly cites "the end of the month" as D-Day for the place, so things might be getting tense now that April has expired:

http://www.wsbt.com/videogallery/73343939/News/Owner-has-until-end-of-the-month-to-save-Walkerton-church

BP

[JimC]

What I don't understand is why the current owner cannot get another loan to do the work needed. He claims in the news story that it's just been paid off. Surely, with that successful completion of one line of credit, he should have enough credit built up that with a plan and the property as collateral he could finance its restoration.

I used to do filmmaking, and in that field I encountered problems from clients all the time when I talked about preproduction. They thought I could show up with my cameras and just film their project. What they didn't understand and what this owner seems not to understand is that you need to do a LOT of pre-planning for any project to be a success. In fact, seeing as this is a church building, one could be poetic and point to the parables in the bible about counting the cost (i.e. planning) before heading into a project and looking foolish. This building may in fact be a perfect modern day example of that.

[8E45E]

What I don't understand is why the current owner cannot get another loan to do the work needed. He claims in the news story that it's just been paid off. Surely, with that successful completion of one line of credit, he should have enough credit built up that with a plan and the property as collateral he could finance its restoration.

It didn't state what he paid for the old church, but it might not be worth a whole lot. I'm not familiar with the area, but if its in a blighted neighborhood, the cost of renovating it, or even demolishing it, could exceed the value of the actual property itself.

Craig

[t walgamuth]

It is in rough shape, but could still be saved now, but work would have to begin immediately. If I examined it in person I might have a different feeling but that's what it looks like. its at a point that it will go down hill very fast with all the roof leaks.