A landmark red brick church at the corner of St. Francis and Joachim streets in downtown Mobile is entering a new chapter after decades of uncertainty, thanks to new owners working to turn the historic building into a venue for music, art and community events.
The building was originally constructed in 1844 as home to St. Francis Street United Methodist Church, itself an offshoot of Government Street United Methodist, sometimes called “The Beehive.” Over the decades, the congregation helped spawn several other Mobile churches, including Ashland Place, Dauphin Way and State Street AME Zion, before holding its final service in 1993. The sanctuary was rebuilt in 1895 after a fire, and its two cornerstones, dated 1844 and 1895, still mark that history today.
After the congregation closed, the building took on a new mission serving people experiencing homelessness, with its former education wing becoming 15 Place, a program that fed homeless men and women in the area. Eventually the property went up for sale, its future unclear.
That changed earlier this year when Clif and Ginna Inge purchased the building, taking on a restoration project the couple compares to buying a piece of Mobile’s living history. Over several months, they stabilized the structure, replaced deteriorating windows, repainted the interior and repaired the steeple atop its 148-foot bell tower, a landmark visible from Bienville Square that inspired the building’s new name: The Steeple on St. Francis.
The Inges credit much of the project’s momentum to two sisters with deep ties to the church, who spent three years building a nonprofit, the St. Francis Street Church Preservation Foundation, to protect the building. Both sisters were baptized and married in the sanctuary, as were their parents, and one sister’s son was the last baby baptized there before the church closed. The foundation raised money through yard sales and grants to support preservation efforts even before a buyer emerged.
Inside, the sanctuary remains a striking space on the building’s second floor, reached by matching oak staircases, with a balcony, an altar area and stained-glass windows lining the north and south walls. A circular “rose window” surrounded by two dozen miniature panes sits behind the balcony, and tall narrow windows tell Biblical scenes, including one depicting Jesus surrounded by children that has captivated visitors for generations. The building’s pews and a hand-carved marble baptismal font dating to 1907, used for countless Mobile baptisms over the years, are being stored on site during renovations.
The owners plan to open the space for special events and performances beginning in December, and local groups have already begun using it. A congregation called Apostles in the City has held monthly services in the building and plans to move to weekly gatherings. The Inges say they have been in talks with the Mobile Symphony, the Mobile Opera and individual musicians about leasing the space, drawing comparisons to how Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium evolved from a tabernacle into one of the country’s most storied music venues.
For those with generations-old family ties to the building, the project represents a rare second life for a piece of downtown Mobile’s architectural and spiritual heritage, and a chance for a wider audience to discover what one longtime member called a hidden treasure in the heart of the city.