A couple of artists bought the 80-year-old Methodist church at South Windomere and 12th Street recently, with plans to make it into a photography studio and gallery.

Photographer Candice Chase and her husband, freelance cinematographer Mark Thomas, closed on the 9,000-square-foot church about two weeks ago. Even with good credit and 20 percent down, it took them about six months to find a lender — they tried 19 banks — because "it’s an odd property," Chase says.

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The church, which was vacant for almost two years, needs a lot of work — every stained-glass window is broken, for starters.  But Chase and Thomas are already at work on the old church, which they intend to list as a film location.