KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The oldest public building in Kalamazoo just happens to be a church. When that church had a hard time making ends meet, church leaders had to get creative to save it.
Kalamazoo’s First Baptist Church was built in 1853.
“There’s a lot of mysteries in this building,” said Dann Sytsma, who owns and operates Crawl Space Theatre Production Company.
Over time, the cost of maintaining the enormous structure became too much for the now 50-person congregation.
“So, they hatched this idea to rent space out to nonprofit groups and arts groups, and they pay rent here at a reasonable rate,” Sytsma said.