[Editor’s Note: The following are reader-submitted comments in response to the article “Born Again” (AN 02_02.19.2014_MW). Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions or sentiments of the newspaper. AN welcomes reader letters, which could appear in our regional print editions. To share your opinion, please email editor@archpaper.com. ]

This reminds me quite a bit of the never-built proposal, Bombed Churches as War Memorials (1945), published in London after WWII, which presented various designs for bombed-out churches to be preserved in ruined form with the addition of garden plantings and a few amenities.

In the event, there were a few bombed churches that were preserved, but not many, and the sites were not developed as visitor spaces. This is all described in the excellent book In Ruins by Christopher Woodward, which is a good read if you’re interested in the paradox of ruins and why they cause both pleasure and pain.

Anne Boyd
Philadelphia, PA

This sounds incredible! I did a project on these two lots during my Master’s at WashU. I have a timeline of the church and old photos I found in archives, as well as hand drawings of the church. If anyone wants to take a look you can see it here.

David Adkin
St. Louis, MO