(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Demolition crews began tearing down Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesday, days after a fire all but destroyed the historic Englewood church.
Building inspectors ordered the demolition because the church, left structurally unsound after the fire, “poses a potential danger to surrounding buildings and public safety,” the Department of Buildings said in a statement.
Joyce Barnes watched the demolition from across the street.
“I was baptized here, and I’ve been a member here for about 47 years. So, it’s like a little piece of you dying," she told WBBM Newsradio.
Crews will also demolish a mural depicting Jesus ascending to the heavens that was spared by the fire.
“Unfortunately, we are not able to save the mural,” the buildings department said, explaining that it wasn’t “technically feasible to cut, lift, and remove the wall intact.”
Doing that “would pose a significant safety risk to workers and could cause other segments of the structurally comprised building to collapse,” the buildings department said.
The church caught fire last week, not long after Rev. Gerald Dew presided over a Good Friday service. The fire burned everything except a mural of Jesus ascending to the heavens.
The blaze was accidentally sparked by a propane torch being used to work on the church’s roof, the Chicago Fire Department determined. The fire reignited two additional times in the following days.
In its statement, the city said it “is committed to continuing to work closely with the leadership of the Antioch Missionary Baptist as they deal with the loss of this historic community pillar.”
The church, at 6248 S. Stewart Ave., has been home to the Antioch MBC congregation since 1958.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2022. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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