by Michael R. Allen
Awaiting demolition, March 18, 2005.
Small and simple, this church was a fine expression of the faith its builder had for continuity and humility. Unfortunately, times have changed and such values have become almost marginal. There is absolutely no humility in wholesale clearance of several blocks of 19th-century buildings and there shall be no permanence of replacement given the cheapness of the new construction here. The Starlight Missionary Baptist Church at 25th and Sullivan streets in St. Louis Place fell in May for construction of a huge multi-block housing developed by the Pyramid Companies. The history of the building, which may date to the 1870s, and its small size made it a prime candidate for preservation in a site plan that included ample open space. Instead it fell at the hands of wreckers.