Goddamned shame. That place looked absolutely incredible. Kind of like World park times a million. Seeing an older video of people skating in there moved me to tears. To any structural engineers, what do you suspect is now the likely outcome for the building? After a fire like this, is there any chance of the structure remaining stable enough to be gutted and renovated? Or will it need to be knocked down?
Building skateparks in abandoned churches is such a cool idea. It makes me realize how important to me the ambience of a spot is. Things like trees, wildlife, foot/car traffic, sounds, walls, sky. Easily as important as the obstacles themselves. I would be inspired to skate under vaulted ceilings and stained glass.
If they can't rebuild in St. Laborious maybe there's another church in St. Louis they can build in.