|
Salem Kirche
|
The Salem Kirche sits proudly off on Evansville's west side in nearby Posey County. Contrary to popular urban legends and beliefs, it is not haunted. Many high schoolers, college students, and other inexperienced explorers come here to get a spook or for the thrill but in reality it is just an old church. It was built c. 1888 and served a Methodist church until 1970's when they built a newer, larger church. The fate of Salem Kirche seemed grim, but a local professor, Ms. Burgdorf, saved it and had it moved to its current location. It has sat there mostly unused since, but there is some effort to renovate it. Long story short, it's a very old gothic church, but nothing really scary about it. We are all about abandoned buildings and scary places, but if we find a location to be neither, we feel it necessary to be honest about venues.
Don't believe me? Read this article from the newspaper. It has all the information that I didn't want to copy.
Update 2012: I found some more articles. 1 2 3
We had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Burgdorf when went to check out the building. She was a very nice woman who welcomed us to check out the building and take pictures, which you probably wouldn't think once you've seen the really bad pictures taken. She told us that she tires of people coming by who think it's haunted, and on a recent occasion, someone broke some of the windows. With the unique style of windows, it would cost around $700 to fix them she claimed. There is a residence behind the church, so please do not be one of those. This place is technically not-abandoned so ask and you shall receive. Don't just break in.
Exterior
 |
| The church as it sits off of the road. |
Update April 2012
It seemed appropriate to visit the church again after several years and a newly purchased camera. These are updated from April of 2010.
 |
 |
Updated Interiors
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Main Building
The condition of the building was fair and structurally sound, but it has seen better days. Years of deterioration and vandalism has done this poor building some damage. But, one can still see it in all it's glory.
 |
 |
 |
| The church. | Looking up at the clock tower. | The main door and facade. You can see the name and date of construction. |
 |
 |
 |
| An augmented shot in the dark. One can see why so many thing it's haunted. | The back of the church. | The side east side of the building, which faces a small house. |
 |
| The same side, but different angle to reveal the clock tower. |
Interior
The interior looked much better than the exterior. There was some paint peeling, but one could still hold services here.
 |
 |
 |
| The neat, gothic door knob. Let's go in. | This is the small room just inside. | This leads to the clock tower. |
 |
 |
 |
| Just inside the main room facing the altar. | Standing on the altar facing out. | The table on the alter. |
 |
 |
 |
| The piano, which I'm sure was used many years ago for services. | One of the walls. | The windows, taken without a flash to show the their true beauty. |
 |
 |
 |
| One of the pews with a classic novel sitting on it. | One of the lights. You can see it's beauty, but you can also see the shape the ceiling is in. | A table found year the altar with some old hymns on it. |
 |
 |
|
| Towards the main door, one finds some junk and the old coat rack. | On the back of the altar there was a back door. It lead to this. |
Basement
The church had a basement, which sounds like it would be cool, but it really was built just to be the foundation and was not any older than 1973. However, it did have some interesting items in it. It had a back door, but it also had a huge hole in it that looks as if it was made that way.
 |
 |
 |
| The basement door. | Right inside the door. | A fireplace? |
 |
| The neat, gothic door knob. Let's go in. |
Overall, an amazing find. I need to go back and get some better pictures. If you go, please remember it is not abandoned and people live in the grounds. Be polite, and I'm sure Ms. Burgdor will let you check it out.
