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From the East St. Louis Journal
will raze it for parking lot
The former home of East St. Louis Council 592 of the Knights of Columbus at 1447 State St. has been sold to Community Mission Church of God in Christ. Sale of the property, an East St. Louis landmark and once a social center of the city, was confirmed today by John Manion, Grand Knight of the council. Manion declined to disclose the purchase price, but said, "It was low . . . we took a licking on it." The real estate transaction Included both the 50-year-old building and the grounds. Real estate agent W. Edward English of Belleville said the church plans to demolish the building and construct a parking lot. In the future. a new building may be erected to replace the present church at 518 Washington Place, East St. Louis, English said. English handled the sale of the property. The Rev. Lemuel Moore, church pastor, could not be reached for comment. The building served as headquarters for the Knights of Columbus Council from 1925, when it was constructed, until 1969, when a new home was opened at 9400 Lebanon Road, East St. Louis. Offices for The Messenger, the official newspaper of the Belleville Diocese, and the superintendent of Catholic schools in the diocese also were located in the building. After the council moved out of the building. it was leased briefly, to the now-defunct Concentrated Employment Program, a federally funded agency. The building has been vacant since March, 1969, when the job program ended after a beating-extortion incident.Manion said the structure has been extensively vandalized and stripped of plumbing. He said the council was forced to build a new headquarters after "the surrounding neighborhood became dangerous ... people were afraid to to go down there at night for fear of being robbed or having their cars vandalized." Much of the building was boarded up in recent years, but this did not discourage vandals. Manion said. "The building now is a shambles," Manion said. "It is sad...very sad." The cornerstone was laid in 1924 by the late Bishop Henry Althoff. The brick structure combined modern and Gothic architecture and was embellished with ornate stone trim. It cost $500,000 to build and at the time of its construction was considered to be the finest Knights of Columbus council building in the country. For years, the building was a center of social activities in East St. Louis. It was the scene of wedding receptions, dinners, dances -and numerous other gatherings, The structure housed a swimming pool, bowling alleys, a gymnasiusm, handball court, kitchen, cafeteria, meeting rooms and bachelor quarters for 41 tenants.
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