Mourning the loss of First Baptist Dallas chapel

Along with everyone who cares about our city’s history, we are mourning the loss of the old chapel at First Baptist dallas, a symbol of community and worship since the 19th century.

This loss is not just of history, but of a place of sanctuary and belief. The stately red brick meeting place had meaning that runs deep in families here. As the city expanded and changed, as generations came and went, it was there.

We’re grateful that no one was hurt, and for the response of Dallas Fire-Rescue to the four-alarm blaze which, packed into a crowded city block, could easily have spread to other structures. Pastor Robert Jeffress said about 2,000 children and volunteers had been on the campus for vacation Bible school earlier that day.

This church has had a special history in Dallas since its founding just after the Civil War when Dallas itself was brand new. The Victorian-style building that sent black smoke high into the air Friday was constructed in 1890. That’s older than the “Old Red” courthouse, the Adolphus Hotel, Booker T. Washington High School, Dallas Scottish Rite Temple, the Hall of State, and most other historic Dallas structures larger than a cabin.

First Baptist has long been a religious and cultural powerhouse, and its leaders — from George Truett to W.A. Criswell to Jeffress — have reliably attracted both followers and critics. But religious and political debates aside, the 134-year-old building is worthy to be mourned. It was a Texas Historical Landmark.

As of this writing, no determination has been made about the cause of the fire or how much of the structure might be salvaged. But it doesn’t look good. On Monday, passersby loitered on Ervay Street, now blocked by temporary fencing, and peered through empty window frames to blank sky. Drone footage shows the roof and interior charred and collapsed, only a husk of brick and stone gables still standing next to its proud steeple.

Dallas is young, as global cities go. The banks of the Trinity River have less recorded history than the banks of the Thames or the Tigris. We should do what we can to hold onto our thin heritage. But we don’t. We’re a city that is often cavalier about taking down historical structures. This one was as old and as charming as anything we’ve got and now it’s likely gone. Maybe it will be a reminder in loss to be careful to preserve what we have.

It’s true that churches are not buildings. They are the community of believers who support and love one another.

But the four walls, the steeple, the pews and the pulpit are not only ingrained in the acts of prayer and fellowship, they are part of the civic fabric. The loss here is a great grief, but one that, like so many others, we must have faith to overcome.

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