Centenary Church Demolished
Centenary United Methodist Church at 928 E. Long Street was recently demolished. The brick building with Gothic details and crenelated square tower was African-American designed and constructed in 1927-1928 as the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church. It last served as a church in 2003 when the congregation relocated to 2048 Denune Avenue. The 8,700 square foot building was acquired by Second Baptist Church once vacated by the congregation and was vacant ever since.
In May 2009, the property’s case was sent to Franklin County Environmental Court for failure to comply with orders the City of Columbus had issued for code violations the previous November. In five short days, neighborhood representatives of the King-Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association performed masonry repair, site clean-up and overgrowth removal to remedy the immediate code concerns. Residents envisioned converting the former church into a neighborhood community center. An offer made by interested parties to purchase the building for this purpose in the fall of 2009 fell through due to the inability to get financing or raise the necessary funds.
On April 16th, 2010, the City of Columbus again issued emergency orders on the property requiring that the building be stabilized immediately or demolished. Items of primary concern are roof and brick wall issues. John Waddy, the attorney representing Second Baptist said the church was not interested in investing any money into repairing the building, but was amenable to selling the building to a buyer prepared to immediately remedy the code concerns. However, the timetable, as a result of the orders from the City, left little opportunity for negotiation. The building was demolished in late May. The Franklin County Auditor appraised the property at $141,700.
The Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church contributed to the architectural and historic fabric of the historic E. Long Street corridor and the surrounding neighborhood. “By the 1920s, Long Street had already become the center of black commercial, social and entertainment life. Long Street enjoyed many black-owned and operated businesses including barber & beautician shops, restaurants, doctors and dentists, grocers, theaters and hotels. There were also several churches, an old folks home and a hospital located on Long Street." The Columbus Illustrated Record, dated 1919, further comments that Long Street community owned and operated two printing offices, an insurance company, several real estate agencies and many other businesses on Long Street in this year.
African-Americans from this era enjoyed their own Empress Theater at 768 Long, and The Plaza Hotel at 738 Long, both of which were located between Hamilton and Garfield, a strip affectionately known as “The Block”. Night clubs, bars, pool halls and restaurants lined this area of Long Street on the north and south sides of the street.
Long Street is rich in its history of black migration to Columbus. It was one of two major streets developed by African-Americans in Columbus, Mt.Vernon Avenue being the second.” (Live a Lifetime on Long Street: A Walking Tour, a project of Columbus Landmarks Foundation, “Lost Treasures Found: Landmarks in the African American Community,” 1993.)