Pilgrim Baptist Church didn't get a promise of city funds to help rebuild its church, but several city departments will help the church in its rebuilding process.
Mayor Richard M. Daley met with Pilgrim's board Wednesday morning and plans to assess the building destroyed in Friday's fire.
"We have to look at this very carefully. The history has a lot of value to it," Daley said at a news conference Wednesday.
The council has no immediate plans to donate funds to rebuild the 115-year-old church, the mayor said.
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich Monday pledged up to $1 million in state funds to rebuild the church. But Daley offered the church the services of city departments to help protect what's left of the building.
Pilgrim Baptist Church burned last week leaving just a shell of the limestone building at 3301 S. Indiana Ave. The "church was designed as a synagogue between 1890 and 1891 by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, but housed the Pilgrim congregation since 1922. The building was designated a Chicago landmark in 1981.
It was also the home of the church's longtime music director Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the father of gospel music.
The City Council Wednesday presented church leaders with a resolution that remarked on the "acoustical perfection of the building's sanctuary," as it hailed the building's significance to the city.
Ald, Arenda Troutman (20th), chair of the council's Committee on Historical Landmark Preservation, said the fire may have been a blessing in disguise.
"You can do a lot with a shell," Troutman said. "I know you can rebuild."
Daley said structural engineers began surveying the site Wednesday to determine the safety of the building.
Chicago Police will continue to provide security at the site and the city's Department of Permits will help the church begin the process of erecting a fence to protect what's left of the building.
The congregation is expected to use the Bronzeville military academy for services Sunday, Daley said.
Article copyright REAL TIMES Inc.
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