South Side funeral home goes to its final reward

South Side funeral home goes to its final reward

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(photo by Lee Bey)

I drove past 67th and Dorchester recently when I spotted this old building getting knocked down.

In recent years, the structure was used as a church, but it was originally a funeral home (Oak Woods Cemetery is about a block west). And after a century of sending people to their final reward—or encouraging those to live right until that day comes—the brick Mission building is now itself headed for the Big Brick Pile in the Sky.

(photo by Lee Bey)

On the day I took these photos, the demolition crew had wrecked the rear of the building, leaving a pile of debris behind a set of‚  sidewalk barricades. The front of the building was still in tact for a moment, showing what was once a sober but handsome building. The circular window atop the corner tower—and the detailing around it—in the above photo is pretty cool, even if did make a good target for sharp shooting rock throwers.

(photo by Lee Bey)

_8145893 (photo by Lee Bey)

I do wonder what will get built‚ on this spot, if anything.