Demolition of Old First Baptist Church Underway
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Demolition continued Thursday on the old First Baptist Church in downtown Jackson. The former church was destroyed by a raging fire just a month ago. For most of the day, crews could be seen carefully taking down brick and metal from the burned out church. Thursday afternoon workers attempted to begin taking out the four concrete columns, but encountered problems as they began lifting the first one. A top section cam off, crashed to the ground, breaking into small pieces. It appeared they would be able to lift the remaining sections, but they also separated and came crashing down. Workers tell us they hope to save six of the windows and 20,000 bricks from the historic building. During demolition, which is expected to take two weeks, East Lafayette Street from Cumberland to Royal will be closed. More than a month ago, massive flames consumed the church. Fire investigators determined crews on the roof accidentally sparked the fire that gutted the old church and threatened several downtown buildings.
