Bloomfield Neighborhood

The boundaries of Bloomfield are defined differently depending on who you’re talking to. This may be partially attributed to the two distinct patterns of residential development found within the city’s official boundary of the neighborhood. Much of the residential portion of Bloomfield, and the part I always picture when someone says they live in Bloomfield, is filled with small homes perched shoulder-to-shoulder at the sidewalk’s edge. The rest of the residential portion of Bloomfield features larger homes with modest front and rear lawns. The Liberty Avenue commercial corridor cuts through the middle of the neighborhood. Vacancy is low for both the residential and commercial properties.

While vacancy is low and most of the buildings present 100 years ago remain standing, Bloomfield still experienced change in that time. This is most clearly illustrated by its religious sites. Some remain religious site, though not for the congregations that worshipped there in 1926. Others have been converted to new uses. Several have been demolished. Three sites closed in the last two decades; two of which experienced strong contention between the former congregants and the religious entity owners over the fates of the buildings. One was demolished (not what the former congregants wanted) and the other was sold to a developer who restored it for secular uses (the former congregants’ preferred outcome).

Neighborhood Statistics (Out of 70 in this Series)

22nd largest by acreage
8th highest number of religious sites (tie)
15th most sites/acre

Locations

The map below shows the locations of the 15 congregations listed in the 1926 directory for Bloomfield (the dotted line marks the neighborhood boundary).

What are they now?

The table below matches the 15 congregations listed in the 1926 directory with the current use of the site.

1926 Congregation Name	By 2026 the Congregation’s Building is:
Christ Methodist Episcopal Church	now First United Methodist Church
First Evangelical Lutheran Church	converted to a secular use, may be vacant
Fourth United Presbyterian Church	converted to a faith-based community service use
Friendship Park Methodist Episcopal Church	replaced with a hospital building
Gospel Hall Mission	converted to a secular use
Gustavus Adolphus Evangelical Lutheran Church	now Evaline Lutheran Church
Holy Calvary Mission	converted to a secular use, possibly abandoned
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church	demolished
Luther Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church	replaced with new building, now the East End Assembly of God
Mt. Olive Baptist Church	demolished
Olivet Mission	demolished
Shadyside United Presbyterian Church	replaced with a drive-thru restaurant
St. John’s (German) Evangelical Lutheran Church	converted to residential
St. Joseph’s (German) Catholic Church	vacant
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church	replaced with a parking lot