Freed slave donated land; Helen Keller spoke there. Farewell to Grand Avenue Temple

In 1867, a Methodist Church was built at Ninth and Grand streets. A portion of the cost for the plot of land was provided by a freed slave known as Aunt Docia, who donated $30 in coins, which her former owner saved for her burial.

Thus began the storied history of Grand Avenue Temple. The church, where Helen Keller once spoke in 1915, would go on to clothe the poor, feed the hungry and enrich the city’s cultural life, all while facing its own struggles to survive.

The church will end its ministry at 10:30 a.m. June 27 with a closing ceremony.

Grand Avenue Temple provided a safe haven and assistance to some of the city’s poorest citizens, but it was also beloved for its stunningly beautiful interior and historic Ernest M. Skinner organ. The church’s contribution to Kansas City’s temporal and spiritual needs will be missed.

Cherryll Doughty, who has been Grand Avenue Temple’s senior pastor since 2017, says the pandemic finally pushed the church over the tipping point.

“The decision was made in March by the board members,” Doughty said. “We lost some members that aren’t coming back because of COVID, and the church is just not financially able to sustain itself.”

It has always been a costly operation to run the church, and Grand Avenue Temple has run into financial difficulties before, most notably during the Depression. Tenants of the office building adjacent to the church, which was then owned by Grand Avenue Temple, started falling behind on their payments, and the costs of maintaining both the church and the building brought Grand Avenue Temple to the brink. The office building and church were put in foreclosure, but the congregation was able to purchase back the church in 1940 by raising $20,000.

In 2021, the economic problems are, apparently, insurmountable.

“The building will be sold,” Doughty said. “We have some folks looking at the church. It is on the historic registry in our new historic district downtown, so I don’t foresee it being boarded up.”

As for those unfortunates who have come to rely on the assistance provided by Grand Avenue Temple, Doughty says provisions are being made. For example, the church’s Sojourner Health Clinic will be moving to Linwood United Church at 3151 Olive St.

“That was one of our main concerns; that the medical clinic be housed in an area that would be conducive to the homeless and low-income folks in the neighborhood,” Doughty said.

Another concern is what will happen to the church’s Skinner organ, known as the Opus 190. Built in 1910, it is the oldest unaltered Skinner organ in the world.

Until the Auditorium Organ in Independence came on the scene in 1959, Grand Avenue Temple was Kansas City’s premier organ recital hall. Illustrious organists from Jean Langlais to Virgil Fox played the renowned instrument.

Powell Weaver, who served as the church’s first organist from 1918 to 1938, was a well known composer of organ works. One of his pieces, “The Squirrel,” was inspired by the church’s organ.

“We know exactly why it was composed,” said Michael Quimby, the owner and founder of Quimby Pipe Organs.

“You can hear the tickity-tick of the Skinner’s windchest magnets, so the piece made all the sense in the world on that organ because it’s like the clicking of little squirrel claws.”

Quimby has a long relationship with the Opus 190. Back in the 1970s, many churches were modifying their venerable symphonic organs to comply with contemporary taste. Quimby convinced Grand Avenue Temple not to alter its historic instrument.

“Basically, if they had done what they were dreaming of doing, the organ would have had no historic significance at all,” Quimby said. “As the famous organ restorer Nelson Barden once said, ‘Fashion wears out more organs than playing ever will.’”

But time and weather also take their toll. Since the 1970s, the Opus 190 has needed countless repair jobs and regular maintenance. Quimby has been doing his best to keep Grand Avenue Temple’s organ up and running, volunteering his time and resources.

Don Crawley, a former country and western announcer who also worked with classical music, was also Grand Avenue Temple’s organist in the early ’90s. Through his Brown Bag concerts and other media-savvy promotions, the church was able to raise money to help Quimby with the organ’s costly restoration.

“There are some organs that just by virtue of the instrument elevate your playing,” Crawley said. “They make you better than you really are. They teach you how to play them. I felt that way with the Ernest M. Skinner organ. It had a warmth that enveloped you. The aural sensations of hearing that instrument are just remarkable.”

The fate of the organ is yet to be known, but Quimby is sanguine.

“I know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think I should probably say anything at this point,” Quimby said. “I’m very positive about the organ’s future, but I doubt it has a future in that building. It could end up in the United States, it could even end up in Germany or Belgium. There’s definitely interest in it in Europe.”

Although it would break many hearts if the organ were to leave Kansas City, Crawley believes the most important thing is that the Opus 190 survives.

“The real tragedy would be if that organ were to fall into the hands of somebody who didn’t appreciate what it is,” Crawley said.

“Mike Quimby, more than anybody, has earned the right to control the destiny of the organ. He donated an authentic restoration of that instrument, he’s been the curator for years, he’s cared for it at no cost to the church, so if anybody has earned the right to decide the best disposition for the Opus 190, it is Mike Quimby.”

Closing ceremony at 10:30 a.m June 27. Everyone is welcome and a reception will follow. 205 E. Ninth St. For more information, grandavenuetempleumc.godaddysites.com.

Elisa Bickers at Westport Presbyterian

Another one of Kansas City’s stellar organs, but one of more recent vintage, is the Martin Pasi organ, Opus 12 at Westport Presbyterian Church. Organist Elisa Williams Bickers, who has a special affinity for the instrument, will present “New Life,” a program of diverse organ music, Friday, May 21 at 7 p.m. The free concert will be live-streamed by the Westport Center for the Arts from its website and Facebook page.

Westport Presbyterian faced its own crisis in 2012 when a fire gutted the church. But with the insurance settlement and the financial support of the congregation and the community, the noble building was saved. The organ, which was installed as part of the restoration in 2014, is a gem. Perfectly suited for the space, it’s beautiful to look at and it sounds even better, especially when played by an organist of Bickers’ caliber.

7 p.m. May 24. Free livestream at wcakc.org/live-stream-events or facebook.com/westportcenterforthearts/live.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.

This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.