First Baptist Church (Detroit, Michigan)

Last updated
First Baptist Church of Detroit
First Baptist Church of Detroit.jpg
Church facade from Woodward
First Baptist Church (Detroit, Michigan)
Interactive map
Location8601 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°22′43.74″N83°4′46.98″W / 42.3788167°N 83.0797167°W / 42.3788167; -83.0797167
Built1909
ArchitectJohn H. Coxhead
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
MPS Religious Structures of Woodward Avenue TR
NRHP reference No. 82002898 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 3, 1982

The former First Baptist Church is a historic Baptist church building located at 8601 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Built in 1909, it was designed by architect Guy J. Vinton in the Late Gothic Revival style. It is now the Peoples Community Church. [1] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 3, 1982. [1]

Contents

History

Original frame building at Fort and Griswold FARMER(1884) Detroit, p657 ORIGINAL BUILDING OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.JPG
Original frame building at Fort and Griswold
1835 brick building FARMER(1884) Detroit, p657 BAPTIST CHURCH, CORNER OF FORT AND GRISWOLD STREETS - FIRST BRICK BUILDING.JPG
1835 brick building

The First Baptist Church of Detroit was founded on October 20, 1827. [2] The first church constructed by the congregation, a small frame structure, was built at the corner of Fort and Griswold Streets in 1831. [3] The frame structure was replaced with a spacious brick church in 1835. The congregation built larger structures in 1859-63 and 1871-75. [3]

As members of the congregation moved outwards from downtown Detroit, the church followed, and in 1909 the church hired Guy J. Vinton to design and construct this church on Woodward. [2] However, after World War II, membership decreased, and in 1957 the congregation sold the building to the Peoples Community Church. [2] The First Baptist congregation moved on to Southfield and constructed a new church in 1965. [2]

Description

The former First Baptist Church of Detroit is a rockfaced, limestone, Gothic-style church measuring 120 feet long by 110 feet wide. The front facade has a massive, Gothic-arched traceried window balanced with a large square flat-roofed corner tower containing the entryway. An educational wing is adjacent to the tower of similar design to the main church. The exterior of the church is notable for its lack of ornamentation, relying on its massive proportions for visual impact. [3]

The interior of the church conforms to the Akron plan, with a large, square, barrel-vaulted central auditorium containing wooden pews arranged in a semi-circle. Notably, a broad, curving balcony panelled with a Gothic arch motif completely encompasses the auditorium. The portion of the balcony over the sanctuary contains the choir loft and organ pipes. The transepts on both the main floor and balcony level are constructed to be used as either classrooms or, by opening partitions, overflow seating space. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Preservation Hall</span>

The Universal Preservation Hall (UPH), located at 25 Washington Street in Saratoga Springs, New York is a year-round arts and community events venue. It currently seats up to 700 and has a large, open, community room. It also houses the worship space for the Universal Baptist Church, a historically African-American congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel Community Transformation Center</span> United States historic place

The former Temple Beth-El is a historic building located at 8801 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1921 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Woodward Christian Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Central Woodward Christian Church, now known as Historic Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church, is a Gothic Revival church located in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan United Methodist Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Metropolitan United Methodist Church is a church located at 8000 Woodward Avenue in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was completed in 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1986. This church should not be confused with Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, which is often regarded as a National Church within the United States as it was specifically established by the General Conference to be a "representative presence of Methodism in the nation's capital".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church is a church located at 8501 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Built in 1911 in the Gothic Revival style, the architect was Sidney Badgley. It was used for some time as the Abyssinia Church of God in Christ. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity United Methodist Church (Highland Park, Michigan)</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The New Mt. Moriah Baptist Church is located at 13100 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It was built in 1922 as the Trinity United Methodist Church, in the Gothic Revival style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United Methodist Church (Highland Park, Michigan)</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Soul Harvest Ministries is located at 16300 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan. It was built in 1916 as the First United Methodist Church and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious Structures of Woodward Avenue Thematic Resource</span> United States historic place

The Religious Structures of Woodward Avenue Thematic Resource (TR) is a multiple property submission to the National Register of Historic Places which was approved on August 3, 1982. The structures are located on Woodward Avenue in the cities of Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodward Avenue Baptist Church</span> United States historic place

The Woodward Avenue Baptist Church was a Church located at 2464 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, but was destroyed by fire in 1986 and delisted in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Hill Historic District (Detroit)</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Sugar Hill Historic District is a historic district in Detroit, Michigan. It contains 14 structures located along three streets: East Forest, Garfield, and East Canfield, between Woodward Avenue on the west and John R. on the east. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit</span>

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cass Park Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Cass Park Historic District is a historic district in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, consisting of 25 buildings along the streets of Temple, Ledyard, and 2nd, surrounding Cass Park. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and designated a city of Detroit historic district in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church is a church located at 4461 Twenty-Eighth Street in Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1980 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The building now houses the Motor City Missionary Baptist Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Vernor–Junction Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

West Vernor–Junction Historic District is a commercial historic district located along West Vernor Highway between Lansing and Cavalry in Detroit, Michigan. The district includes 160 acres (0.65 km2) and 44 buildings. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District is a neighborhood located on East Jefferson Avenue between Eastlawn Street and Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan. The district is the only continuously intact commercial district remaining along East Jefferson Avenue, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Meetinghouse (Ferrisburg, Vermont)</span> Historic church in Vermont, United States

The Union Meetinghouse is a historic church on United States Route 7 in Ferrisburg, Vermont. Built in 1840, it is architecturally an eclectic combination of Federal period design with Gothic Revival features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Financial District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Detroit Financial District is a United States historic district in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2009, and was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of December 24, 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Lutheran Church (Adrian, Michigan)</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

Saint John's Lutheran Church is an active church building located at 121 South Locust Street in the city of Adrian in Lenawee County, Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan State Historic State on February 23, 1981 and shortly after listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1984. The Lutheran congregation moved to a new home in 2007, and the church building now houses the Reformed Baptist Church of Lenawee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Griswold Civic Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Griswold Civic Center Historic District is a small historic district containing eight civic and religious buildings, roughly bounded by Hubbard, Walnut, and Trowbridge Streets, in Allegan, Michigan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First United Methodist Church (Farmington, Michigan)</span> United States historic place

The First United Methodist Church is a church located at 33112 Grand River Avenue in Farmington, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 First Baptist Church of Detroit Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine from City of Detroit Planning and Development Department.
  3. 1 2 3 4 National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form: First Baptist Church of Detroit

Further reading