Thoughts
St.
Cyril will always remain one of the most disturbing
sights that I have seen. More then any shuttered hotel,
theater, or train station an abandoned church in the
middle of a decimated neighborhood testified to the
destruction of a community. That something so big
and beautiful was created by proud but poor working
class is a testament to their faith. Yet all this
effort was to be abandoned only 80 years later. I
have since seen several other abandoned churches,
some even more impressive then St. Cyril, but none
have had the same impact. No other has represented
the end of a neighborhood as directly as St. Cyril.
Now that St. Cyril is gone gradually
the remaining houses will join it to oblivion. If
all goes according to plan an industrial park will
rise over the site. There will be no trace left of
the area's former residential character. Meanwhile
the former Packard plant will continue to decay a
few blocks away.
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