SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The city of Springfield has donated $10,000 to prevent the demolition of a temple that has historic significance to the city’s black community.
The city made the pledge this week to a group trying to save Timmons Temple. The funds are from the Minor Neighborhood Improvement Program.
Paula Ringer, a member of a committee trying to save the temple, said about $120,000 of the $200,000 needed to relocate the temple has been raised. A developer who bought the church wants it moved to erect an apartment complex on the site.
The Springfield News-Leader reports Timmons Temple was built in 1932 and was a place of worship for four generations of the city’s black residents.