DESTIN — The sale of an abandoned church that has become a local icon has awakened memories of the past and fears for its future.
St. John Greek Orthodox Church was purchased by Destin businessman Mike Buckingham on his third offer of $330,000 after it had been on the market for months.
The chapel and property at 303 U.S. Highway 98 was appraised at a little less than $350,000 in 2012, according to the Okaloosa County Property Appraiser’s office.
“My initial thought was to make it a restaurant,” Buckingham said. “I’m not going to rush because it is a beautiful building. I want to make sure it is done right.”
The church’s most recognizable feature is its dominant stained glass windows, but over the years the building has deteriorated. The carpets are mildewed and some of the wood columns that support the church’s porch are rotting.
But many residents have vibrant memories of the church, and are worried that the building will be destroyed.
“At this time, I have no plans to tear it down,” Buckingham assured. “I want to take my time and think it out.”
View photos of the church at The Destin Log.
The man and the church
St. John’s history is intertwined with one of Destin’s pioneers, John George Maltezo.
Born in 1865 on the island of Aegina in Greece, Maltezo joined the crew of a sailing ship near the turn of the century and came to America.
Maltezo settled in Milton and eventually moved to Destin in 1922, where his shipbuilding efforts included the Primrose, the last seine boat built in Destin — which still is displayed outside the Community Center.
“Capt. John Maltezo was one of the most respected members of the small fishing village known as Destin,” said Capt. Ben Marler, his grandson. “He was a craftsman and could do most anything he set his mind to.”
The Maltezo family grew to include Alexander P., Tony G., Nicholas, Andrew, Anastasia Inez, Margarette, Stella, Eventhia and Cleopatra.
Maltezo donated the land where St. Andrew’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church is located, and spent much of his spare time carrying lumber from the shore to the church site when it arrived by boat from Pensacola. He did not convert from his Greek Orthodox faith but called St. Andrew’s his church home.
He died in 1932 at the age of 67, decades before St. John’s was built next door.
‘A family prayer chapel’
Maltezo’s daughter, Cleo Maltezo Marler, and her husband Ben traveled to Greece many times and saw little chapels around the countryside. After their first trip, Cleo wanted to build such a chapel in Destin to honor her father.
“Mother loved him with all her heart,” said Ben Marler, son of Cleo and Ben Sr. “This marvelous building was constructed to the glory of God and in memory of her dad. Once she got her mind set on something, she did it. She was a doer.”
The land for the church was purchased by Ben Marler Sr., and Cleo commissioned an architect she met in Greece to draw up the plans. She also involved her family in the planning, including her sisters Stella and Vera, her daughter Joy, and Jimmy and Doris Maltezo Trammell.
“The windows cost a small fortune, along with the furniture that was flown in from Athens, Greece,” Ben Marler said.
In the late 1970s, Cleo and Stella took their plans for the chapel to builder L. J. Henderson.
“The more we did, the more they wanted done,” Henderson recalled. “The sisters provided the land, all the materials, and we built the beautiful building.”
“Mr. Henderson did an outstanding job,” Ben Marler said. “He used fine materials and did outstanding work.”
The church was dedicated to the memory of John George Maltezo in 1984 and turned over to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Atlanta. The archdiocese eventually put it up for sale after it focused its resources on Saints Markella and Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Mary Esther.
“St. John’s was built as a family prayer chapel,” Dale Maltezos Allen said. “It was never meant to be a church. I’m surprised they’re selling it.”
Dives for the cross
The Maltezo family and other Destin residents have vivid memories of the times they spent at St. John’s for baptisms, weddings, funerals, cross dives and other services. The structure and décor were beautiful, with a high ceiling, paintings and icons that still adorn the walls.
Tona Newland, daughter of Doris Trammell, attended Epiphany services and St. John’s Patron Saint services at the church.
“I have a photo of my mother with a priest at my niece Harmony’s Chrismation, like having baptism and confirmation in one,” she said. “I was filled with awe whenever I went in there.”
A cross dive to mark the Epiphany was held annually at the church. The crowd would cross U.S. 98 to watch teenagers dive for the cross in Destin Harbor.
The last cross dive was in 2006 before it was moved to Saints Markella and Demetrios.
“I really do not want to see it knocked down,” Newland said of the chapel. “I want it to be a church just as my grandmother wanted it to be. I guess you could call this the family funeral church. My grandmother, Stella Maltezos Marler, was the first.
“Cleo, my mother, Doris Isabelle Trammell, Cleo’s daughter, Joy Hanshaw and my father Jimmy Trammell’s funerals were in that church,” she added. “Strong family ties, and the pews have the names of the Maltezo family.
“Grandma loved that little church.”
Contact Destin Log Staff Writer Pam Griffin at 850-654-8444 or pgriffin@thedestinlog.com. Follow her on Twitter @DestinLogPam.