Cessna Decosimo at the entrance to old church in St. Elmo. Click to enlarge.
photo by John Wilson
Local sculptor and artist Cessna Decosimo says he has found his dream studio - thanks to a persistent realtor.
Mr. Decosimo last week closed on the purchase of the long-vacant AME Zion Church near Chattem in St. Elmo.
"It is like finding a Rembrandt at a garage sale," Mr. Decosimo said.
The church was built in 1886 by members of the Patten family, who established Chattanooga Medicine Company (Chattem) at the foot of Lookout Mountain. But it has long been out of use, and small trees are growing out of its sides.
Mr. Decosimo said he fell in love with the church, which features a tall bell tower, arched wooden windows and an intricate inner ceiling below the roofline.
He said he plans to open up all the boarded up windows and let the light flow back in. He said, "It has a perfect orientation toward the north. That is the kind of light for painting that the Old Masters used."
Mr. Decosimo said he plans to begin painting portraits soon in the sanctuary.
He and his wife, Elizabeth Rogers, plan to move into the spacious basement, which Mr. Decosimo says is "just like an Italian villa." It has handsome stone columns and arched windows with lentels at the top. Mr. Decosimo plans to open all those windows as well and capture the breeze that flows down from Lookout.
Mr. Decosimo said, "This is a church that was built to last. It was put together with intelligent use of materials. It is a sacred place, and I will be inspired to paint here."
He said he plans to have a show inside the sanctuary this fall to display all the portraits he paints inside the old church.
Mr. Decosimo earlier restored an old warehouse on Williams Street. It is there he created the Police Memorial that now stands on Market Street and other works. He said he will continue to have his main studio there.
Ellen Brooks of the Fletcher Bright firm handled the transaction after earlier selling the old church to Corky Coker, who has restored a number of old buildings on the Southside.
Ms. Brooks said she had long noted the old church as it stood in a field of kudzu and continued to deteriorate. She said, "I loved it. It is such a cool place. I wanted to see someone come in and bring it back to its original condition."
She said she began a search to try to find the owners. It led her all the way to Washington, D.C., to some of the last trustees of the long-defunct congregation.
She said she was finally able to persuade them to let the old building go.
Afterward, she said, "I can't tell you how many times I showed the building. People just love that little church."
She said Mr. Coker finally bought it, and he began some work on it. She said he had considered moving in himself.
To have your portrait painted at the AME Zion Church at the foot of Lookout Mountain in the north light and with the breezes flowing in off the mountain in the newly reopened arched windows, contact Cessna Decosimo at 266-0733.
Brick church has long stood vacant.
photo by John Wilson