America is stuffed full of abandoned churches. So much so that in certain parts of the bigger cities you can barely go more than a few blocks without stumbling across one. It's a country that is rapidly losing it's religion, with ageing and shrinking congregations leading to more and more churches closing their doors. Unlike here in the UK with the CCT, there is no special body set up in order to protect these structures meaning many of them fall into ruin and are demolished without a second thought from developers or local councils.
The following images are collated from my various trips to the US, showing numerous churches in wildly varying states of decay. Sadly some have been demolished since these photos were taken but I'm sure there will be many more to come. I've simply got way too many to post on their own, and usually only a handful of useable photos from each so it seemed to make more sense doing it this way. However I haven't included the churches I saw in Detroit, as that is a topic for another day.
Church of the Transfiguration - This was the first American church I shot back in 2014, and it was in a perilous state. Large chunks of wood and masonry were falling from the ceiling whilst I was inside, and earlier this year the entire ceiling fell to the floor in one go.
Sacred Heart Church - Another one from 2014. This church was much more structurally sound! After closure, the developer who bought it removed all the stained glass and replaced the windows with regular glass. The attached rectory was once home to a squatter who filled almost every room with rubbish and urine-filled bottles, and was sadly burned down last year.
Trinity Baptist Church - A much smaller church, spread over two floors with the main church on the upstairs. A squatter used the baptism pool as shelter, although he was nowhere to be seen this day. It was demolished last year.
Salem Evangelical Reformed Church - This was one of my absolute favourite churches I've ever shot. In latter day life it was known as the Sunrise Church of Christ, when they moved out the new owner tried to construct a small makeshift church in the middle of the main church but it never panned out and he simply left it to decay. Not long after I visited some complete nonce tagged over the mural of Jesus, and the church was sadly demolished a couple of months back.
'Big Blue Church' - A chance find by myself whilst we were headed elsewhere. As we pulled up around the side we saw a guy locking up the basement and leaving, but it was obvious the main body of the church was abandoned. After getting in we were taken aback by how untouched it was, and made busy shooting. After venturing into the basement we realised that the church had simply relocated downstairs a few months prior as we opened the door into a fully active, although thankfully empty, church set up down there! Since visiting it has been hit hard and doesn't look anything like this any more.
Israel Church - I don't quite know how to start with this one. I was visiting Gary, Indiana with a large group of explorers/friends, I think there were about ten of us at this point. For the uninitiated, Gary is like Detroit's smaller brother. The same ridiculous levels of abandonments but in a city about a quarter of the size. We spotted this church a mile off, for obvious reasons as the entire front left corner had fallen off the building fairly recently. After getting in I was amazed to see it un-tagged, a real rarity in Gary as every abandoned building is usually covered in graffiti extremely fast.
Then the fun began...one of my friends left the building to go outside and chill, and as he was sat there with his camera gear the pastor of the church next door, which just so happened to be the replacement church for the derelict one, walked over and started talking to him. At this point he sent one of us a message saying 'don't come out now' but none of us got it. I think you can see where this is going - right on cue eight or nine of us came barrelling out the front door right in front of him and her - and as we did we all saw the shocked look on her face and all I could think to say in my best British accent after she asked how we got in was 'the door was ajar!'. My friends over there still rib me for it to this day. She was actually fine with us as we had only been taking photos, she was just worried that someone from her church had left it unlocked...
Redwood Church - Another chance find. Me and my friends were taking a back road to another abandonment when we all spotted a gorgeous little church by the side of the road. After we pulled over we wanted to get some outside shots of it and they set about doing so as I gave the exterior a good look over. After two laps of the outside I was convinced it was abandoned, as there were a couple of broken window panes. After a little faff we got inside and it was stunning. A beautiful little disused rural church, so small that we had to go inside one at a time to get our shots.
The White Church - Very big, and very empty. No mess or fuss with this one, just in and out pretty quick as it is knee deep in a ghetto.
Gold Leaf Church - A spectacular empty church in a really bad neighbourhood. We didn't get much time in here at all, maybe ten minutes tops before my friend who was acting as lookout texted us to say get out now the police are circling the block...
'The Lego Church' - If I thought the previous two were in rough neighbourhoods it was nothing on this. This one is located in one of the most dangerous areas of Philadelphia, as such I was completely on edge the whole short time I was inside and I really didn't like it. Attached to the church is a very large school building but we didn't even consider going in that due to the very real danger of drug users/other bad people in there. Luckily I saw this one when I did as not long after it was unrecognisable. The church was renovated in the 1990s, which resulted in it having a very 'fake' or 'plastic' look hence the name it was given.
'Twilight Church' - This was a true gem, a real unexplored beauty for a short time. That was until some idiot splashed the location all over Instagram a month or so after my visit and it got ruined. It is my other outright favourite American church so far, and my photos taken as the light was rapidly fading do it no justice whatsoever.
First Baptist Church - A real disappointment, but I knew it wasn't going to be great anyway it was just a little bonus location after doing the 'big stuff' nearby earlier that day. Graffed and trashed and rotten, it wasn't much fun.
Hungarian Church - This one we knew was decayed and rotten and also very big so I was well up for it. It seemed kind of apt exploring an abandoned church on Easter Sunday at least. I can't see this one being very long for the world now, it won't take much for it to collapse in on itself.
I hope you enjoyed reading this little compendium of misadventures, and I'm certain I will be seeing many more abandoned churches over there in time.
The following images are collated from my various trips to the US, showing numerous churches in wildly varying states of decay. Sadly some have been demolished since these photos were taken but I'm sure there will be many more to come. I've simply got way too many to post on their own, and usually only a handful of useable photos from each so it seemed to make more sense doing it this way. However I haven't included the churches I saw in Detroit, as that is a topic for another day.
Church of the Transfiguration - This was the first American church I shot back in 2014, and it was in a perilous state. Large chunks of wood and masonry were falling from the ceiling whilst I was inside, and earlier this year the entire ceiling fell to the floor in one go.
Sacred Heart Church - Another one from 2014. This church was much more structurally sound! After closure, the developer who bought it removed all the stained glass and replaced the windows with regular glass. The attached rectory was once home to a squatter who filled almost every room with rubbish and urine-filled bottles, and was sadly burned down last year.
Trinity Baptist Church - A much smaller church, spread over two floors with the main church on the upstairs. A squatter used the baptism pool as shelter, although he was nowhere to be seen this day. It was demolished last year.
Salem Evangelical Reformed Church - This was one of my absolute favourite churches I've ever shot. In latter day life it was known as the Sunrise Church of Christ, when they moved out the new owner tried to construct a small makeshift church in the middle of the main church but it never panned out and he simply left it to decay. Not long after I visited some complete nonce tagged over the mural of Jesus, and the church was sadly demolished a couple of months back.
'Big Blue Church' - A chance find by myself whilst we were headed elsewhere. As we pulled up around the side we saw a guy locking up the basement and leaving, but it was obvious the main body of the church was abandoned. After getting in we were taken aback by how untouched it was, and made busy shooting. After venturing into the basement we realised that the church had simply relocated downstairs a few months prior as we opened the door into a fully active, although thankfully empty, church set up down there! Since visiting it has been hit hard and doesn't look anything like this any more.
Israel Church - I don't quite know how to start with this one. I was visiting Gary, Indiana with a large group of explorers/friends, I think there were about ten of us at this point. For the uninitiated, Gary is like Detroit's smaller brother. The same ridiculous levels of abandonments but in a city about a quarter of the size. We spotted this church a mile off, for obvious reasons as the entire front left corner had fallen off the building fairly recently. After getting in I was amazed to see it un-tagged, a real rarity in Gary as every abandoned building is usually covered in graffiti extremely fast.
Then the fun began...one of my friends left the building to go outside and chill, and as he was sat there with his camera gear the pastor of the church next door, which just so happened to be the replacement church for the derelict one, walked over and started talking to him. At this point he sent one of us a message saying 'don't come out now' but none of us got it. I think you can see where this is going - right on cue eight or nine of us came barrelling out the front door right in front of him and her - and as we did we all saw the shocked look on her face and all I could think to say in my best British accent after she asked how we got in was 'the door was ajar!'. My friends over there still rib me for it to this day. She was actually fine with us as we had only been taking photos, she was just worried that someone from her church had left it unlocked...
Redwood Church - Another chance find. Me and my friends were taking a back road to another abandonment when we all spotted a gorgeous little church by the side of the road. After we pulled over we wanted to get some outside shots of it and they set about doing so as I gave the exterior a good look over. After two laps of the outside I was convinced it was abandoned, as there were a couple of broken window panes. After a little faff we got inside and it was stunning. A beautiful little disused rural church, so small that we had to go inside one at a time to get our shots.
The White Church - Very big, and very empty. No mess or fuss with this one, just in and out pretty quick as it is knee deep in a ghetto.
Gold Leaf Church - A spectacular empty church in a really bad neighbourhood. We didn't get much time in here at all, maybe ten minutes tops before my friend who was acting as lookout texted us to say get out now the police are circling the block...
'The Lego Church' - If I thought the previous two were in rough neighbourhoods it was nothing on this. This one is located in one of the most dangerous areas of Philadelphia, as such I was completely on edge the whole short time I was inside and I really didn't like it. Attached to the church is a very large school building but we didn't even consider going in that due to the very real danger of drug users/other bad people in there. Luckily I saw this one when I did as not long after it was unrecognisable. The church was renovated in the 1990s, which resulted in it having a very 'fake' or 'plastic' look hence the name it was given.
'Twilight Church' - This was a true gem, a real unexplored beauty for a short time. That was until some idiot splashed the location all over Instagram a month or so after my visit and it got ruined. It is my other outright favourite American church so far, and my photos taken as the light was rapidly fading do it no justice whatsoever.
First Baptist Church - A real disappointment, but I knew it wasn't going to be great anyway it was just a little bonus location after doing the 'big stuff' nearby earlier that day. Graffed and trashed and rotten, it wasn't much fun.
Hungarian Church - This one we knew was decayed and rotten and also very big so I was well up for it. It seemed kind of apt exploring an abandoned church on Easter Sunday at least. I can't see this one being very long for the world now, it won't take much for it to collapse in on itself.
I hope you enjoyed reading this little compendium of misadventures, and I'm certain I will be seeing many more abandoned churches over there in time.
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