Really nice article, Stacey.  I thought that it would be interesting to note that the Mishna actually discusses the fate of synagogues after they are no longer in use.  

In Megillah 3[2] the question is raised as to what can be done with a synagogue once it is sold – R. Meir says that one can sell a synagogue only under the condition that it will be returned on demand.  The sages reject this by stating that once a synagogue is sold, it is sold for all time: except for the use of four purposes: a bathhouse, a tannery, an immersion pool, or a urinal. R. Judah rejects all of the opinions above and claims that the purchaser can do whatever he wants with the building (including turning it into a bathroom).     

What this suggests is that in Judaism the sanctity of the synagogue is not inherit in the building itself.   Rather, the Mishna explains, what makes something sacred is its physical or conceptual proximity to the Torah.  Once that loci of sanctity is removed, all is permitted.