Question: What Texas church was turned into a public park after it burned down in 2005?
Answer: Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Houston’s Fourth Ward. Founded by Reverend Jack Yates in 1891, the church was destroyed by the Great Storm of 1900 and a fire in 1920. A brick Gothic Revival structure was completed in 1923, and two stories were added in 1950. The congregation relocated in 1997 when the building was deemed structurally unsound.
The city of Houston acquired the property after a fired gutted the building in 2005. Artificial turf and masonry benches arranged as pews were installed inside the building, and colored polycarbonate panels were fixed to a steel frame to mimic stained glass windows. The park opened in 2013.
