Abandoned Church, West 117th Street, Cleveland

In Albums: churches Cleveland urban decay

Stone steps leading up to a boarded-up church, with trees in the background, one turning yellow in early fall colors

Oct 19th, 2004, by Alex Zorach

This photo shows the abandoned church that lies on the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and West 117th Street in Cleveland Ohio. West 117th street is the border of Cleveland and Lakewood at this point, so this church lies at the western border of the city of Cleveland.

This area is actually a relatively prosperous area in the city of Cleveland. It is at the heart of Cleveland's gay neighborhood, highly accessible by public transit, highly walkable, and in an area with very high population density. Yet the church building is still vacant.

I find this photo very beautiful; it shows the typical wet (or perhaps more accurately, damp) weather of this region, and the coziness imparted by the lush foliage and pleasing fall colors.