ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996               TAG: 9607100067
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JAMES TOLLIVER JR. STAFF WRITER
note: above 

OLD GAINSBORO CHURCH TO BE RAZED

TWO BOYS BURNED the historic structure in April 1995. Now the congregation has faced up to a difficult decision.

Gainsboro's old First Baptist Church, gutted by fire 15 months ago, will be torn down.

The church's congregation voted unanimously June 30 to raze what's left of the old structure on Jefferson Street Northwest between Patton and Gilmer avenues. The church moved to its current location on Wells Avenue 14 years ago.

"We have wept, we have wept and we have wept," said Eunice Poindexter, church historian.

"My feeling was that people wanted to move on," church member Wendell Butler said.

The congregation didn't set a specific date, but a spokesman for Alan L. Amos Inc., the demolition company that will raze the structure, said it could be "in the very near future, possibly next week."

Assistant City Manager James Ritchie said he admires the congregation for making the tough decision.

"Not only the church, but the city feels the loss of the church," he said. "We'll be here for support."

After the fire, that block of Jefferson Street was fenced off because the remaining walls and bell tower were deemed a danger to passers-by.

Plans for the site of the nearly 100-year-old building have not been disclosed. A memorial that would include bricks and the bell from the old church is being considered.

First Baptist was once the largest and most prominent black church in Virginia, west of Richmond.

The Gothic-style structure was destroyed April 22, 1995, by two boys who broke in and lighted two wine bottles filled with gasoline. They later told investigators that the younger boy wanted to "watch something burn."

The older boy was sentenced to a detention center while the younger one was ordered to receive counseling and fire safety instruction.

LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PHILIP HOLMAN Staff    The skeletal remains of First 
          Baptist Church stand in stark contrast to downtown Roanoke's modern 
          First Union Tower. color.