Trinity Episcopal Church - Bullock County Courthouse Historic District - Union Springs, AL
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 32° 08.617 W 085° 42.977
16S E 621069 N 3557076
The current Red Door Theatre was Trinity Episcopal Church when the Historic District Nomination form was submitted in 1976. The building dates to 1909 when it was built for the Episcopal congregation, though it changed hands in 2002.
Waymark Code: WMHNPC
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 07/28/2013
Views: 2
This is an example of how buildings can gain new life for new purposes. The congregation was no longer able to support their building, so the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama deconsecrated it and traded it to the city of Union Springs in return for some vacant property. In 2004, the Tourism Council of Bullock County was able to organize and present a play. The council was able to renovate the facility, including adding air conditioning, and the former church became the Red Door Theatre. More information about productions can be found at the theater's site at (
visit link) and the council's site at (
visit link)
The description from the Historic District Nomination form (see optional link below) reads: "1. TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH (101 N. Prairie Street): 1909, one-story brick, end gable Gothic structure with an attached bell tower. Lancet arched center front stained glass window and five stained glass windows on each side separated by buttresses."
The historical marker outside the building provides the historical information:
"Trinity Episcopal Church was established in Union Springs by Rev. DeBerniere Waddell in 1872 as a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama with seventeen communicants and an annual budget of $412.50. Until 1879 services were held monthly in the County Courthouse or in churches of other denominations.
In 1879 the congregation purchased a small wooden store building diagonally across Prairie Street from this site. Remodeled as a church, services were held there until completion of the present church.
The current building was designed by a local high school senior, Richard Kennon Perry, who went on to become a notable architect. Erected on a lot provided by the Foster family, the Gothic-revival building features stained glass windows and dual front entrances appropriate for the interior plans popular in southern churches built between 1880 and 1920. The marble cornerstone indicates the church was completed and dedicated to God in 1909.
The Church had seventeen communicants in 1925; in 1993 there were fewer than eleven. Negotiations with the Diocese led to transfer of ownership of the building to the City of Union Springs, in exchange for two acres of land donated by individuals. The service of Desanctification of a Consecrated Building was performed by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama on August 28, 2002 when the Diocese removed the lectern and bishop’s chair and placed them in other churches.
Under the auspices of the Tourism Council of Bullock County, the building was renamed the Red Door Theater. The first community event held here was a group reading from the script of the play “Conecuh People.” The play, presented four times during April 2004, featured the lives of people in Bullock County.
The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and, in 1989, was designated as a historic site by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama."