Fire investigators at the scene of the devastating fire at downtown's First United Methodist Church are looking into the possibility that a vagrant could have been involved in the three-alarm blaze.
It's one of several leads being investigated at this time, but the church was a favorite of some of downtown's homeless, who slept in its outside stairwells and in the alley north of it. Over the years, the church had dealt with break-ins that were thought to originate from the people sleeping around the church, and investigators are evaluating the possibility that somebody in the building looking for food or cash may have been involved in starting the fire.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Not matter the cause of the fire I am sick that the Lowenstein and Rhodes Jennings buildings may be totally lost. After what - 30 years of fighting to get that corner renovated this happens. Tragic. And that beautiful church...
This church had such historic meaning to Memphis. The first house of worship in Memphis was on that site as the circuit rider on his horse came through every few weeks to preach there. It was a charming church and well-restored. It and the other buildings leave gaping holes in downtown Memphis that cannot be replaced.
Here's hope the Court Square buildings can be saved, and hope the owners err on the side of preservation and history in making their decision.
If they are lost, they can be replaced. The really hard part is replacing them with buildings as beautiful as what we lost. We will have lost the history forever, but we can regain the beauty.
Post a Comment