10 Homes That Used to Be Something Else: an 1866 Church, an 1896 Classroom and a Water Tower

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10/28/2026
10 Homes That Used to Be Something Else: an 1866 Church, an 1896 Classroom and a Water Tower

The small bank where my grandmother cashed her check every Friday is somebody’s house now, and, I am told, the vault door is still in the kitchen, propped open with a cast-iron pan. I drove past it last spring and found a mailbox where the drive-up window used to be. These 10 people live in buildings that used to be something else, and they kept the best parts.

An 1866 Church Where the Sanctuary Has a Pool Table

“This is my house; a converted church originally built in 1866. Still a lot of work to do, but it’s starting to come together!”

The bell is gone unfortunately. You can get up there, but it’s weird. You have to climb through a tiny hole in the wall, and then climb a ladder to get up there.

There are two kitchens and 3 bathrooms. The heating bill hasn’t been too bad, primarily because I don’t heat or cool the sanctuary.

The previous owner bought it in 1989 and spent 35 years living here and working on it. He was a fascinating guy, and an incredible artist. So the basement has a full drafting room, a dark room, and a wood shop.

A 110-Year-Old Water Tower, Now an Office and an Art Studio

“I have this 110-year-old water tower”

My house was built before the town had running water or electricity. This water tower had a cistern on the 3rd floor and a hand pump on the ground floor. Pump up the well water to fill the cistern and then it would gravity feed back into the house and barn (barn burnt down in the 70s).

The first floor is my office, spiral stairs to second is an art studio, third is not used because it’s ladder access only.

The prior owner’s kids made the top level their play area (chalkboard and dry erase paint). But my kids are too young to use a ladder.

It has electricity (heat and a/c) but ironically no water.

From the author:

The drive-up window at my grandmother’s bank was on the driver’s side, so she never had to lean across the seat, and for 20-some years she never once went inside. Read these back to back, and a pattern shows up: almost nobody removes the strangest part of the building. The tower keeps its hand pump, the church keeps its steeple. It stays because it explains the house.

A Crumbling 110-Year-Old Schoolhouse Bought for $175,000 and Turned Into a Family Home

“4 years ago we bought this crumbling old schoolhouse for $175,000. Since then, we’ve been turning the 110-year-old building into our family home.”

An 1896 Classroom Where the Bed Sits on the Hallway Ceiling

“My loft condo in an 1896 converted schoolhouse | Seattle, WA”

The building was originally an elementary school and was converted to condos in the 80s. My unit was a classroom.

I completely remodeled the kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen was a little 8×8 cave when I moved in. I also became a crazy plant person because it’s so easy for plants to thrive with these windows. I’m gonna miss this place a lot.

Unfortunately, the bed structurally cannot be moved. The “platform” the bed is on is actually the ceiling of the hallway directly underneath it.

My windows face directly west! I would say that my plants are in “survive” mode November-February ish and then “thrive” mode the rest of the year.

A 100-Year-Old Bank With Stage Lights Still on the Third Floor

“I live in a 100-year-old former bank building. This is the 3rd floor in unrehabbed glory”

I originally leased a commercial spot on the first floor. The owner offered a pretty good deal. We sold our home and bought a big old building. I love it.

I spent a long time on the second floor which is where we live. I probably won’t get around to redoing this room. It’s pretty much the playroom.

The door into this space has a peephole. The old owner removed the stage but it has stage lighting still in place.

This has been in the same condition for 20 years.

A 1947 Grocery Store That Fed Its Town for 70 Years

“We’re closing on this 1947 Grocery Store w/ a 2br Apt above.”

Ludi’s market closed in 2014, I believe. It was a family owned and operated butcher and baker for over 70 years/

Las Vegas, New Mexico. It’s a little railroad boom and bust city about an hour from Santa Fe.

Art gallery below, indoor skatepark in the warehouse behind, food carts out front and live above.

We sold our 500 sqft condo to move back to my home town.

We’re really excited! Sure it’s a mountain of work, but it’s MY mountain of work.

We’re totally using it as our wedding venue when done with the remodel!

From the author:
The grocery in story 6 ran for about 70 years before it closed. Buildings like these rarely change hands because they wear out. They change hands when the town changes around them: a bigger store opens on the highway, a school district consolidates, a bank merges. The brick in most of these photos is in better shape than the reason it stopped being a store.

An 1850s Barn, Converted With an Amish Crew Hired by Letter

Myself, my fiancee, and some Amish have started to convert an old 1850’s barn on the property we bought into our house.

They live about 45 minutes from me. They did some work for a buddy of mine so I got their address and mailed them a letter!

Every time they would talk about how they knew something, they referenced the encyclopedia.

Funny, there’s no phone number, website, or email on the business card — just a name and address to write to haha.

An 1870 House With a School Bell on the Roof

“Bought an 1870 house and it has a bell on it”

The listing said it was a school, I’m still looking for any concrete evidence though.

I haven’t gone up there to check it out yet, but my dream is to connect it to the doorbell. It does look like there’s a clapper in there.

I did find a place maybe a couple hours away that sells and maintains cupola bells, so I plan to reach out to them eventually.

From the author:
One practical note, since the owner in story 8 is still looking for proof. A building’s first life is usually on paper somewhere: the county recorder has the deeds, old newspapers covered every opening and closing, and the local historical society often has a photo. When I looked up my grandmother’s bank, the clearest record was a notice about its new drive-up window.

An 1872 Church Becoming a Home for a Family of 7

“Restoring and renovating an 1872 gothic revival church”

It was listed as a 2bd 2ba but when we toured it, it was definitely a 0bd 2 half bath so we knew we didn’t have to fight anyone over.

It as we are a family of 7 and needed a large home with a lot of space and bedrooms. We ended up being able to add 5 legal bedrooms and a loft bedroom plus 3 full baths and another half.

The original was burned but only on the inside. The cornerstone by the front door states 1872, but it’d definitely underwent some remodeling in 1921.

We’re keeping some and turning some into bookshelves and others into chairs for our formal dining table.

A Chicago Parochial School, Home for 28 Years

“Our artist abode. Live / work parochial schoolhouse conversion — Chicago, IL”

It’s funny because we are now considered one of the old timers in the neighborhood.

Over the past 28 years that we’ve owned the building we’ve slowly transformed the front into a hidden garden. Our neighbors on either side are the old parish church and the rectory that are both now private residences as well.

It was pretty much left empty when we first bought the place. Our son used to ride his trike around in there and I would use it for bigger painting projects. For us it was always an extra 1300 sq. ft. of just big play space that over the years turned into rehearsal space and maker space.

People in my grandmother’s town still call that house the old bank. The couple in the last story spent 28 years in a school, between a church and a rectory that have become homes too. A building can change what it is for; the neighbors rarely change what they call it, and that is the best part of the address.

Would you live in a building that used to be something else? Tell us in the comments.

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