RICHMOND, Ind.— It's been 16 months since the final service was conducted at Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church and efforts began to find a new purpose for the 112-year-old building.
There's been little progress toward securing a new owner for the property and its famed Tiffany stained-glass windows and other historic touches, but that's not necessarily a reason to despair, according to the Rev. Alan Thames,executive presbyter of the Whitewater Valley Presbytery.
"There's not anything happening, but I think that's good news," he said.
Searching for a new owner has been complicated by a reversionary clause that was discovered in the original deed, which states if the church ever ceases to be known by the Reid Memorial name or ceases to house a Presbyterian congregation for a period of 10 years, the building is to go to the heirs of Daniel Reid.
EARLIER COVERAGE:
►Now closed, what's to become of historic Richmond church?
►Work begins to secure future of closed historic church
►Reid family could claim Presbyterian church, deed says
Reid Memorial Presbyterian opened in 1906 as a gift from former Richmond resident Daniel G. Reid in honor of his parents.
Reid had worked his way up in business, starting as a young man in Richmond and eventually becoming a New York City tycoon. Henever forgot his hometown, and his donations led to the construction of the church as well as the first Reid Hospital.
When the church was built, Reid spared no expense. It's estimated hespent about $295,000, which would be the equivalent of more than $7.5 million today.
Inside, there are62 stained-glass windows as well as furnishings designed by Tiffany Studios in New York.The building also boastsan organ built by Hook and Hastings House of Boston, Mass., and a set of 14 bells in its tower.
After finding out about the clause in the deed, the presbytery reached out to several of Reid's descendants and invited them to come to Richmond. They continue to be involved in discussions about the building's future and have had a Tiffany expert look at the windows a couple of times, according to Thames.
"I think they thought we were communicating that to them because we were ready to sign it over. We're not until we've exhausted every way of trying to find a way to keep the building in the community, serving the community in some way," he said.
"We are asking them— because it is such an important landmark to Richmond— to slow down the process and see if we can find a way to keep it in the community intact."
Should someone step forward with a plan to preserve the building and put it back to use, it's likely the Reid descendants would have to sign off on any such deal.
"It is our understanding we'd have to still work with them, but I think they are willing to be a part of that," Thames said.
But so far, there's been little luck in finding someone with a real interest in the property.
"We have not been approached by anybody in Richmond about anything, and so that's why we're talking with Indiana Landmarks and a couple of other groups that have a little better exposure than just within the community of Richmond," Thames said.
The wording of the deed's reversionary clause also would prevent the presbytery from handing the building over to another congregation from a different denomination as is beingdone with another historic church in the city, St. John Lutheran.
"We couldn't just hand it over to another church that is not Presbyterian," Thames said. "(And) with First Presbyterian a block away, we can't start another church a block away again. Even if we wanted to start another church here in Richmond to keep (Reid Memorial) in the family. It wouldn't be fair to that congregation to do it."
Thames said the likelihood that the building could be used for some kind of commercial endeavor is slim, making it that much harder to find someone or an organization with enoughfinancial capital to secure the property's future.
"It would require some kind of endowment probably. We really don't see the building being used for a purpose necessarily that would be self-sustaining. It might end up being for concerts or the Shakespeare festival or something, but none of those things are probably going to actually sustain the building on its own," he said.
"That magic formula hasn't come up yet, but at least people are trying to work on it."
In the meantime, the Whitewater Valley Presbytery continues to pay for the insurance, utilities and security for the property, and a caretaker keeps an eye on everything. However, there's not enough money available to do that for very long.
"At some point— probably within this calendar year— we'll have to really stop and evaluate that because we have limited funds and we've already maintained it for a little over a year. We realize we can't do it indefinitely," Thames said. "If there's nothing that can be worked out with any other partners and the family, then we would probably have to say the family has the right to claim it at that point.
"I would want the community of Richmond to know that we are trying very hard to find ways to not let that building disappear."
Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at765-973-4459 orjtruitt@pal-item.com.
