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Sanctuary under siege: The historyBy Times staff writer © St. Petersburg Times, published April 22, 2001 In April 1990, carrying the cross from their vast sanctuary, members of the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg moved from their downtown church to a new home on Gandy Boulevard. They were leaving their familiar church behind "to have an opportunity to have a more vibrant ministry," the Rev. James Graves said then. The Baptists had occupied the property since 1911, completing their neoclassical revival church in 1924. But by the 1980s, it was time to move. Membership was dwindling as people moved to the suburbs. Those who still attended struggled to find places to park. In 1990, the Baptists' next-door neighbor, the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Peter, agreed to buy their sanctuary and educational building for $1-million. While the education building is being used for a number of programs, the vast sanctuary, with its balcony, fellowship hall and numerous Sunday school rooms, has remained virtually empty. Last week St. Peter's sought permission from St. Petersburg's Historic Preservation Commission to tear down the old church. First Baptist's current pastor, the Rev. Walter Draughon III, was there to support them. "We moved out of that area because we had only 13 parking spaces," Draughon said during an interview. "I think the decision of the Historic Preservation Commission and ultimately the (City) Council turns not on the possibility of having two church houses downtown. ... The option is losing both churches or keeping St. Peter's Cathedral at the expense of the demolition of First Baptist." St. Peter's, which traditionally has attracted members of prominent families, began its ministry as a mission in 1889. It was formally organized and renamed the Church of St. Peter in 1894 and moved to Fourth Street and Second Avenue N. St. Peter's Gothic revival building was completed at that site in 1899. Today the church has about 1,000 members and like downtown churches across the nation has been forced to adapt to survive. Church leaders believe that ensuring accessible parking is one way to do so. Around it other downtown churches have closed or moved.
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