2 replies to this topic

[dwtaylor999]

This old abandoned church in the ghost town of Burbank, OK is entering it's final days. Burbank is located on the tallgrass prairied and was originally settled as an agricultural community in the late 1890s. The town became "official" withe the establishment of a post office in 1907. This was the community church and was built sometime between 1906 and 1910. It was located in what was the business district and once included a parsonage next door. The church originally doubled as a school in it's early life, and again late 1920's when the existing Burbank school burned.

Burbank in 1905



Burbank experienced a boom when oil was discovered nearby in 1920. The town diminished rapidly when the boom ended, returning to its original agricultural roots. The last proven activity I found for the church was 1973, when it was called the Church of God. The roof, originally wooden shakes, had been recovered with asphalt shingles, but the shingles have disintegrated so badly the remains of the old wooden shakes where the sole remaining protection. With the water in, the rot slowly ate away at the rafters until the collapse.


Burbank in 1923. The church was located at the extreme left of the photo and is blocked by other buildings.






An interior shot taked in December of 2010, shortly before the roof collapsed (not mine)



The church was built before electricity and indoor plumbing, and though electricity and gas were added, it never had indoor plumbing. The building was uninsulated with no air conditioning, and I expect it would have been interesting inside in the heat of an Oklahoma summer. This was a simple, functional, small town church with space for approximately 50 people. The theater style seating was not uncommon for the era, as I have encountered several old churches with a similiar setup. Construction was basically a single large room, with a smaller room in the rear.
































The old piano was an Hobart M. Cable. The company originally bult pianos in La Porte, Indiana, but the company moved to Chicago in the 1930s until it went out of business in 1965. A Chinese company makes pianos using the name today.





















Other than the birds, no congregations have met here for the last 40 plus years. Ironically, the day I stopped for the photos, a large grass fire in the area came within a few feet of the remains, which would have gone up like gasoline.



fin

[Vampirequeen]

It's a shame that such a nice church is falling apart. I like the first two pictures.

[Chaindrive]

Great stuff. It always amazes me that what once was a bustling city/town turns to dust.