LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Several Louisvillians are working hard right now, trying to save a decades-old historic church in Downtown Louisville.
St. Paul’s German Evangelical Church on East Broadway was destroyed by a fire in Oct. 2024.
Dozens came out Friday to protest the demolition of the church.
Britni Staats, who lives in Old Louisville, said, “I’m a huge lover of history and historic structures. It just breaks my heart when I see history being neglected.”
Sadie Iovennko, who owns the historic Buechel Train Depot, also wants to see the church saved. She said it matters because the church has served not just as a place of worship, but also a gather place for the community.
“It’s also a stunning, stunning building. The architecture is wonderful. It’s a great example of what architecture can look like from this time period and so it should be saved.” Lovennko said.
The church dates back more than 100 years. A Louisville architecture firm designed the church using Late Gothic Revival style.
The church is abandoned but It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Debra Richards Harlan has been doing preservation work in Louisville for 48 years. Shealso wants the church to be saved.
“This is pretty much one of the last intact urban blocks along Broadway. The buildings are all to the street line. They all contribute. This is also a local landmark.” Richards Harlan said.
Staats would love to see the building renovated. She said, “In a perfect world I’d like for a nonprofit to come in, fix it up, maybe turn it into a youth center. I think initially the idea was to turn it into a hotel for the people that are visiting loved ones in nearby hospitals, that’s a great idea as well.”
Iovenko and others protesting want to send a message about saving the church.
“Let’s pause demolition. Let’s take a breath. We need to get a second assessment on this building so that we can truly determine its structure and its safety to the public and that needs to be done by a non-involved third party who has experience dealing with structures of this age,” Iovenko said.
Emily Martin the executive administrator of communications with Louisville’s Department of Codes and Regulations sent Spectrum News 1 a statement that said, “Following the emergency demolition order issued earlier this week, we were contacted by the property owner who has submitted a Wrecking Permit through our Construction Review office. This permit is currently under review. Upon approval, the property owner will bear full responsibility for completing the demolition.”
Iovenko said there is a third-party engineer on stand-by in Louisville that is ready to perform a structural assessment. She said they just need the church building owner’s permission to do so.
