Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church

Last updated

Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church
Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church - Detroit Michigan.jpg
Church façade from Woodward
Location8501 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°22′40.52″N83°4′46″W / 42.3779222°N 83.07944°W / 42.3779222; -83.07944
Built1911
Architect Sidney Badgley
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
MPS Religious Structures of Woodward Ave. TR
NRHP reference No. 82002916 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 3, 1982

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. [2] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [1]

Contents

History

By 1908, the Presbyterians in Detroit recognized the need for a church to serve congregants located in what was then the "north" Woodward area. [3] Meetings were held and the congregation was organized by the presbytery on March 17, 1908. [4] The church had 163 members.

Rev. Sherman L. Divine was installed as the congregation's first minister, and he embarked on an ambitious building project, envisioning a sanctuary that would cost about $100,000 ($3,257,037 in 2022 dollars [5] ). [4] The church enlisted new members and new funding. Tracy and Katherine McGregor donated a lot along Woodward, and the cornerstone for the church was laid on January 1, 1910. [3] Construction began, based on a design by Sidney Rose Badgley. The church was dedicated on June 23 of the next year.

Membership surpassed 2200 by 1921. However, by the 1950s, many members were leaving Detroit for the northern suburbs. [4] Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church began to struggle, with fewer than 1000 members in 1961 and only 404 in 1971. In 1981, Woodward Avenue Presbyterian merged with Covenant Church. The combined churches still had fewer than 500 members, and by 1991 there were only 210. In 1993, the congregation split from the Presbyterian church, eventually becoming the Abyssinia Interdenominational Church under Pastor Gary Douglas. The church closed on the death of the pastor in 2005. Woodward Avenue Presbyterian was abandoned, and has fallen into disrepair.

Owners changed hands several times but none had the finances to keep up such a large property. [6] The building then was bought at a foreclosure sale by an information technology company that had also purchased an adjacent building. In a 2018 television interview the company's executive outlined plans to restore the building for the community. [7] As of January 2019 the company had replaced the roof and were in the process of interior cleanup and structural stabilization. [8] However in July the technology company was debared from doing business with the city until 2026 after bribing a city official for business contracts. [9] As of 2020 there was no update on any further repairs. [10]

Architecture

Woodward Avenue Presbyterian is an English Gothic-style church, faced with rough rock and trimmed with a contrasting limestone, and measuring 184 feet long by 104 feet wide. [3] The Woodward Avenue façade boasts a massive carved-stone entrance with a traceried stained glass window set above; two square towers flank the center entrance. Along the side, gabled transepts contain full-height traceried windows. A two-story educational wing, built at the same time as the main church building, abuts the rear. [3] A lantern dome, raised above the roofline, lights the auditorium. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. S. Kresge</span> American businessman (1867–1966), founder of Kmart

Sebastian Spering Kresge was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores, the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the Kresge-Newark traditional department store chain. The discounter was renamed the Kmart Corporation in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Detroit)</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. In 1824 its congregation formed as the first Episcopal and first Protestant church in the Michigan Territory.

The Trinity Health Arena is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Muskegon, Michigan, United States. It was built in 1960 in partnership with philanthropist and industrialist Louis Carlisle Walker at a cost of $2 million, and on October 27, 1960, was formally gifted to the City of Muskegon. Mr. Walker provided $1 million and the City provided $1 million toward the cost. It is currently home to the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, Muskegon Risers SC of Major Arena Soccer League 2, and the West Michigan Ironmen indoor football team. The Arena will change its name to Trinity Health Arena after a corporate decision to rename Mercy Health facilities Trinity Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics Center O'rena</span> Multi-purpose arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan

Athletics Center O'rena is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is home to the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball teams. The court has a distinctive "blacktop" color first used in the 2015–16 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (Manhattan)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is a Roman Catholic parish in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1918 by the Dominicans; the attached priory serves as the headquarters of the Eastern United States Province of the order. Its architecture has some unusual features: above the front entrance is one of the few statues of the Crucifixion on the exterior of an American Catholic church; and inside, the Stations of the Cross depict Christ with oil paintings instead of statuary or carvings. It has two Schantz pipe organs. The church building, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street in the Lenox Hill section of the Upper East Side, has been called "one of New York's greatest architectural adornments."

Bailey Memorial Stadium is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose stadium in Clinton, South Carolina. It is home to the Presbyterian College Blue Hose football team. The facility opened in 2002. The playing surface is named Claude Crocker Field. The facility features a multi-level press box, a spacious field house and concession stands for home and visiting fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Poughkeepsie, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located at North Hamilton and Mansion streets on the west side of Mansion Square in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It is a stone church in the Norman-Gothic Revival styles built in the late 19th century.

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

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. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 3, 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carillon Tower</span> Skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina, US

The Carillon Tower is a 394-foot-tall (120 m) high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The building was completed in 1991 and it has 24 floors. The top of the high-rise contains a copper-roofed, Gothic central spire shaped like a bell tower, which rises 300 feet (91 m) from the base of the building. This structure is considered to be the most striking feature of the property, and it was designed to resemble the architecture of the historic First Presbyterian Church located across the street. The same church also inspired the building's name. An art gallery is located in the lobby of the building hosts a program of rotating exhibitions, including artist Jean Tinguely's Cascade, a 40-foot (12 m) mobile suspended above an indoor fountain. A landscaped public plaza is situated at the entrance of Carillon on West Trade Street. It surrounds a 30-foot (9 m) high multi-colored aluminum sculpture, designed by Jerry Peart, named The Garden. It has 470,726 square feet (43,732 m2) of Class A office space. This building was built on the former site of the Hotel Charlotte. In 2007, it was sold for $140 million to Hines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Unitarian Church of Detroit</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The First Unitarian Church of Detroit was located at 2870 Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. Built between 1889 and 1890, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It was destroyed by fire on May 10, 2014.

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

The Prayer Temple of Love Cathedral is located at 12375 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan. It was built in 1929 as the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, and was 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">St. Paul's (Zion's) Evangelical Lutheran Church</span> Historic church in New York, United States

St. Paul's (Zion's) Evangelical Lutheran Church is the official name of what is usually referred to as St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Red Hook, New York, United States. Its six buildings and cemetery are on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) lot on South Broadway just south of the village center. The current church is the third building on a spot that has been home to what was originally a Reformed congregation since 1796.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Presbyterian Church (Batavia, New York)</span> Historic church in New York, United States

The First Presbyterian Church in Batavia, New York, United States, is located at East Main and Liberty streets. It is a joined complex of several buildings. The main one, the church's sanctuary, is a limestone Gothic Revival structure built in the mid-19th century. Its congregation was the first church to be organized in Batavia, albeit as a Congregationalist group at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spencertown Academy</span> United States historic place

The former Spencertown Academy is located along the NY 203 state highway in Spencertown, New York, United States. It is a mid-19th century building in the Greek Revival architectural style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation B'nai Israel Synagogue</span>

Congregation Bnai Israel Synagogue is a Conservative synagogue located on Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns, New York, in the United States.

The Packard Pan-American is a concept car produced for the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Presbyterian Church (Portland, Oregon)</span> Historic church in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The First Presbyterian Church is a church building located in downtown Portland, Oregon, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Construction began in 1886 and was completed in 1890. The building has been called "one of the finest examples" of High Victorian Gothic architecture in the state of Oregon. It includes stained-glass windows made by Portland's Povey Brothers Art Glass Works and a church bell cast with bronze from captured Civil War cannons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Rapids United Methodist Church</span> United States historic place

Rock Rapids United Methodist Church, formerly known as First Methodist Church, is located in Rock Rapids, Iowa, United States. The church building is significant for the use of blue-gray and red granite used in its construction. It was designed by Sioux Falls, South Dakota architect Joseph Schwartz utilizing the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Completed in 1896, it is the second church building for a congregation founded in the 1870s. The blue-gray granite quarried near Sioux Falls is the main building material, and it is laid in a random ashlar pattern. The red granite was acquired from the receiver of a bankrupt packing plant which had begun, but did not complete, a new stone building. It is used for the trim, especially in the voussoirs of alternating colors. The building also features a tall corner bell tower. The pipe organ was ordered from the Hinners Organ Company of Pekin, Illinois in January 1905 at a cost of $1,960. An addition was added to the south side of the church in 1966. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterman Gymnasium</span>

The Waterman Gymnasium was the first on-campus gymnasium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The building was the first home of the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. The building stood at the corner of North University Avenue and East University Avenue, at the northeast corner of the original campus.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. Abyssinia Church of God in Christ from Model D
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church". State of Michigan. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Dan Austin. "Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church". HistoricDetroit.org. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  5. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  6. Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church from Detroiturbex.com
  7. "Restoring Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church". NBC Local 4 WDIV (verified account). Detroit, Michigan. April 5, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  8. "Debarment Matter OIG Case No. 2016-0071, 7 May 2019 (p. 174)" (PDF). City of Detroit Office of Inspector General. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  9. Ferretti, Christine (June 19, 2019). "IT firm, ex-CEO banned from doing business with Detroit after bribery case". The Detroit News. Detroit, Michigan. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  10. Mondry, Aaron (January 30, 2020). "16 Dormant Buildings in Detroit Awaiting Life". Curbed Detroit. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  11. Ren Farley. "Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church/ Abyssinia Interdenominational Church". Detroit1701.org. Retrieved January 7, 2014.

Further reading