Fire destroys skatepark, arts studio in north St. Louis, created by Jewish farmer
Fire destroyed the former St. Liborius Church, located at 1850 Hogan St
Published June 29, 2023
An overnight fire in north St. Louis has destroyed a former church that a local Jewish farmer, Dave Blum, had worked for years to convert into an indoor skateboard park.
St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said on Twitter that the fire began at about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, in the rectory section of the church. Jenkerson said the flames spread quickly due to the dry, hot weather conditions, leaving the former church a total loss. Its roof is completely gone.
.@CFDstlfd has requested a 3rd Alarm with a 4th Alarm to follow immediately after; also requesting to mutual aid Hook & Ladders to protect #STLCity.
Over 100 #firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and Command Staff Officers on scene.
Operations are exterior outside the collapse zone. pic.twitter.com/JiH7Bapx6u
— St. Louis Fire Dept (@STLFireDept) June 29, 2023
St. Liborius Church, located at 1850 Hogan St., is a historic landmark built in the 1800s.
Dave Blum and Sk8 Liborius
In 2019, the Jewish Light introduced you to Jewish pig farmer Dave Blum. He and his wife Autumn operate Such and Such Farm in DeSoto, Mo.
Blum is also a master welder and one of the craftsmen who created the City Museum. Over the last decade the busy farmer-welder became co-owner of the long-abandoned St. Liborius Church in north St. Louis. It sat vacant for years and was deteriorating badly before Blum and his partners rescued it from the wrecking ball.
They soon transformed St. Liborius into Sk8 Liborius, an indoor skateboard park and urban art studio. It had since become a sanctuary for skateboarders, BMX riders, Quad skaters, artists, musicians and area youth.
“We have a very direct goal for our community,” said Blum in October of 2022. “We’ve trained dozens of kids in skills like tuckpointing and carpentry. Our end goal is to build an art hub in North St. Louis in the building with a giant art gallery and skate park. The skate park is very important for the kids because skateboarding transcends age or race or gender or socio-economic class.
“Skateboarding is analogous to the skills and mindset that you need to be successful with anything that you do in life. Falling down and getting back up again, trying and failing until you succeed. That’s the type of mindset you need to be successful at anything that you do. So skateboarding is a really beautiful parallel into working with kids.”
The Jewish Light will continue to update this story as new information becomes available.
