by Mary Rupert
Bystanders watching St. John the Divine Catholic Church burning on Tuesday evening, March 3, were saddened at the sight.
The historic church at 2511 Metropolitan Ave., in the Argentine area of Kansas City, Kansas, was built more than a hundred years ago. Heavy smoke engulfed the neighborhood as the church building burned.
“Devastated,” said Mary Ann Franco, a bystander, about the fire. “My parents celebrated their 60th anniversary, there have been weddings, there’s just so much in that church.”
A lot of the people in the neighborhood went to the school there, too, she said.
“It’s heartbreaking,” another bystander said.
The building has not been used as a church for many years, and is owned by an organization.
Heavy smoke and fire were showing when firefighters arrived, said Brian Hendon, public information officer for the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department. Station No. 7 was only four blocks away.
Hendon said the cause of the fire was not known, but it is possible that the cause could be accidental, connected to homeless people looking for a place to stay, he said.
The church has been vacant for several years, he said.
“It’s been here a long time for Argentine. I think they’ll probably miss seeing the church there even though it’s not being used or occupied,” Hendon said.
Firefighters contained the fire, and were hitting hot spots around 6 p.m.
According to a National Register application, the church was built in 1887 as the Metropolitan Avenue United Methodist Church. The building was severely damaged in the 1903 flood, according to the application. It was substantially remodeled from 1909 to 1913, then sold to the Catholic Diocese in 1937. The application described the church as the center of religious life for the Mexican-American community.
Unified Government real estate records listed the owner of the property at 2511 Metropolitan as Metropolitan Avenue Arts Center LLC. The owner of the property at 2513 Metropolitan was listed as St. John the Divine Community Art and Education Center Inc. The Community Art and Education Center is a nonprofit entity.
Some neighbors had said for years that the building was dangerous, according to former Unified Government Commissioner Ann Brandau Murguia, who stated on social media that the building had not been used as a church in more than 25 years.
In the past, there were efforts from some neighbors to tear the church building down, but a group of residents tried to save the church building. Some neighbors warned the government about the danger of the building, according to the former commissioner, and it had not been improved as much as some of the neighbors wanted. The UG allocated grant funding many years ago.
