Restoration plan for historic Pilgrim Baptist Church gets $2.1 million boost from the state
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's been 16 years since a massive fire destroyed Pilgrim Baptist Church in Bronzeville. Five years ago, the church said the site would become home to the National Museum of Gospel Music, but there's been no forward movement until a promise of progress made on Thursday.
A rebirth from the birthplace of gospel music. Inside what now serves as Pilgrim Baptist Church in Bronzeville came the announcement of renewed effort to reinvent its former site.
"Been a long time coming, but it's finally coming, and we're thanking God for that," said Cynthia Jones, chair of the church's board.
The shell of the original space still stands at the corner of 33rd and Indiana, across the street from the new church that replaced it.
Built in 1890, the original Pilgrim Baptist Church has been lauded for its rich history and its architecture. On Jan. 6, 2006, a fire that grew to an inferno took much of that away.
The pain of losing a pillar of the community was matched by frustration over the past 16 years. There were stutters and starts of fundraising to rebuild, and money that didn't seem to be making a dent. Then 2017 brought the announcement of a new vison for the property.
"I call it repurposing a space that everybody can enjoy, and that's how we came up with the National Museum of Gospel Music," Jones said.
Church leadership said delays – pandemic-related and otherwise – are now over. Work on the $30 million project to rebuild the church into the National Museum of Gospel Music is ready to begin.
A $2.1 million check from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will pay to restore and preserve the limestone walls that still stand. They'll join another relic that was spared from the flames.
"If you've driven past Pilgrim, there was a sign there that says 'Pilgrim Baptist Church,' and it stayed in place," said Antoinette Wright, president and executive director of the planned National Museum of Gospel Music. "It damaged, it melted, but that sign did not melt. It's standing strong. Pilgrim, you're standing strong!"
Shoring up what's left of this iconic structure is just the first part of the plan, and leadership says it'll take more money to make the renderings of the National Museum of Gospel Music reality.
But it's a start. And that's something to sing about.
When the plan for the museum was announced in 2017, leaders had hoped to have it open by 2020, but a new opening date has not been announced.