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Sanctuary under siege: Tim Clemmons
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 22, 2001
The facade is impressive. Soaring columns and a grand entrance. And then? Even one preservationist concedes that there's not much that's architecturally significant beyond the front doors.
The former First Baptist Church at 120 Fourth St. N has been empty for years. The homeless have left their urine stains on the steps leading to its entrance. The cardboard boxes that serve as their shelter lie near its columns.
But to Tim Clemmons, a local architect, the building is worth preserving.
"Isn't this beautiful?" he asked, as Neighborhood Times toured the deserted church last week.
It's not that he did not see the peeling paint from water leaks or the termite-eaten stair rails. Rather, in his mind's eye, Clemmons saw floor plans for the eight or nine townhomes and apartments he hopes to build where Baptists once worshiped.
The staircases that carried them to the balcony will lead townhouse owners from living room to bedroom, he said. And the red carpeted stairs and stage area will serve as an elegant foyer. It's too majestic to destroy, he said.
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