This is a lot to process.
While I was at the Touhill Performing Arts Center for the MLK celebration today, Friedens United Church of Christ at the corner of 19th and Newhouse was burning (video). I’ve spent some time on that corner. It means a lot to me.
I was last there for a walking tour of the Hyde Park neighborhood in August. I took a bunch of photos.
Previously, I was the director of North St. Louis YouthBuild, a construction training and GED program housed at Friedens.
Before that, I was the treasurer of Friedens Neighborhood Foundation. Before that, I helped organize a breakdancing competition at Friedens and attended the free community lunches on Wednesdays.
I’ve maintained an unreasonable hope that something would breathe new life into those buildings. Now it seems they’ve passed on to the other side.