Abandoned churches of Detroit

[Ocean2026]

I always liked the one at 8501 Woodward - of course I've only been to Detroit once but I still like it.

[DetroitZack]

This one is at Grand River and Vicksburg

[detroitbob66]

This is the East Grand Blvd Church of broken dreams! Sad situation

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[Whitehouse]

Pretty ironic that last picture.

[detroitbob66]

Right! I got more too.....I got in there this fall and it was just like I said.....a sad situation

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[kathy2trips]

Really?! You mean this monstrosity?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/...9f200a210c.jpg
Ugly as sin.

versus this:
http://detroit1701.org/Graphics/St.JohnCantiusA.jpg

I'm ashamed of my fellow Catholics for abandoning the beautiful churches built by their ancestors which are of truly amazing and inspiring proportions...in favor of what are essentially strip malls in the exburbs. Oh well...closer to their subdivisions; further from black people.

Oh, thank you for that. All faiths are to blame, however. BTW: That church at Grand River and Vicksburg was Calgary Presbyterian Church. And a lot of black people have left Detroit as well. Black flight, perhaps?

I hate the abandonment what amounts to giant works of art, and the disrespect toward the poor, hard-working people who built them, as well as and those who donated part of their paychecks to craft monuments to God.

Look at the modest homes surrounding magnificent structures. How could these people afford that? If you folks of other faiths think the Pope just unloads a couple of DaVinci's and gives parishes the cash, you are way mistaken!

If you want to build a church now, you have to adhere to ceiling height restrictions and energy consumption regulations. But old churches are grandfathered in, and can even get help from the Church with "green" renovations. I guess they're trying to make urban pioneerism more attractive.

I know this because here in Houston we had to build a new co-cathedral [[there's one in Galveston, too) and our archbishop kept going to Rome, bugging JPII about all the restrictions. The cost: $49,000,000.

Old Houston Co-Cathedral [[1912) http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/B...-Cathedral.php
New Houston Co-Cathedral [[2008) http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/B...-Cathedral.php

What would it cost to replace King Solomon or St. Albertus today? Can we afford to lose them?

Thank you for the pictures, by the way.

[kathy2trips]

I know a church that was built in the 1800s that is still operating. It's name is St John-St Luke and it is on Gratiot and Russell. It is behind the candle and insense store on Russell the south side of Gratiot. It is a very old building where the parishoners hold service once a week on Sunday at 10:30am. It is a sight to behold if anyone cares to go inside to look

Yes, I love what little is left of the German heritage of that area. That church is on the US National Register of Historic Places. The former St. John's German Evangelical Church at 2120 Russell, was designed by Julius Hess of GAR Building fame, and was the oldest German protestant church in Detroit, dating form 1874. Here's the Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_J...gelical_Church

[detroitbob66]

Here is some more of the East Grand Blvd Methodist Church o Broken Dreams...built in 1908......u guys gotta see my collection......who wants more

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[Bobl]

This link might interest some:

Detroit Catholic Churches--Souvenir Album Published in 1910


Another thread could be devoted to the old neighborhood bars of Detroit. Each neighborhood, in addition to it's own church, also had it's own neighborhood bars. Many had ethnic food, pickled eggs, etc. to go along with the beer and spirits. Another way to relieve one's pain and disappointment!

[jeanofarc]

It's actually not abandoned; but the pastor is trying to get community involvment in using the spaces and bring the building back to life. He wants non-profit and community groups to use the space for trade to get it operational. I'm going over there to fix a gas leak and get a tour.

[krapug1]

I'm ashamed of my fellow Catholics for abandoning the beautiful churches built by their ancestors which are of truly amazing and inspiring proportions...in favor of what are essentially strip malls in the exburbs. Oh well...closer to their subdivisions; further from black people.

You made an excellent point. Yes, one reason for abandoned churches is the population decline in Detroit city, BUT it was made worse by the fact
that the Roman Catholic Church in the USA has RARELY made itself welcoming to Afican Americans, and thus you have more empty Catholic Churches than needed to be. It is one of many, many, reasons that I am a PROUD
Ex-Catholic.

Ken

....and before any of you blindly, loyal Cathoilcs start any of your whining about it's open season on the Catholic Church. In our great nation every institution is subject to scutiny, the RC church is no different.

[Rosa]

I believe St. Albertus is still open:
http://www.stalbertus.org/

I attended mass there a few years ago. The decor is wildly ornate and colorful, sort of like Sweetest Heart of Mary though not quite as grand. I highly recommend a visit.

[Rosa]

You're right...it was St. John Cantius. We went there for mass until it closed in October, 2007. The bell tower was recently placed at St. Paul of Tarsus in Clinton Township.

What did they do with the altar? There was an amazingly ornate altar there.

[Retroit]

...the Roman Catholic Church in the USA has RARELY made itself welcoming to Afican Americans, and thus you have more empty Catholic Churches than needed to be. It is one of many, many, reasons that I am a PROUD Ex-Catholic...

Could you elaborate? Have African-Americans been turned away from the Catholic Church?

...and before any of you blindly, loyal anti-threadjacking critics start any of your whining: In our great forum, every allegation is subject to scrutiny, and the anti-Catholic rhetoric is no different.

[Onthe405]

Could you elaborate?

Certainly. Straight from someone who was raised Catholic.

Have Afican-Americans been turned away from the Catholic Church?

Not as a formal policy. However, as Christian denominations go, it is difficult to argue that the RCC is a welcoming church to outsiders. For the most part, the RCC is very much a denomination you are born into via culture and family rather than intellectually choose as an adult. The statistics support this. Ask a Catholic if their parents were Catholic and the answer will most likely be “yes”. Ask a Catholic if they have ever attended services of another denomination, and the answer will most likely be “no”. This is particularly true in the Detroit area where huge numbers of immigrants from Eastern Europe & Italy [[my background) settled, and the dominance of the RCC is so closely intertwined with the cultures of countries in those areas.

Excluding people, rather than including them, is a tenant of the RCC faith. Who is “qualified” to participate in communion is just one of many examples. Divorced people are not welcome. Gay people are not welcome. People of other Christian denominations are not welcome. People who have never been baptized are not welcome. Those who do not confess to a RC priest are not welcome. Up until recently, single people were not welcome to be oblation bearers [[carrying the gifts to the altar). I can continue if you’d like.

The purpose of the thread & this post is not to argue the theological justification for these policies . People like yourself are free to subscribe to any faith you wish and feel justified in it. However, objectively, there are other churches [[both denominational & otherwise) who welcome all of God’s children equally, without any asterisks or velvet ropes. That was your original question.

[Traxus]

Here's one that they just gave a new roof, and are hoping to salvage:

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[DetroitZack]

Traxus, what church is that?

[DetroitZack]

Here is the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church [[1911)

[Ocean2026]

Thanks Detroit Zack- I posted a couple of pics a while back. I hear its in disrepair of course. What is the area like? Anyone been inside.. recently?

[DetroitZack]

At the link below are some pictures of the inside from last summer
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=wood...20church&w=all

[Jimaz]

This DetroitYES banner sums up this thread succinctly:

[Retroit]

This DetroitYES banner sums up this thread succinctly:

Hmmm... I don't see any gay or divorced people there either.

[Jimaz]

That banner tells a story that takes place after the story of this thread. It's both prescient and poignant. That's a gem of a photo right there.

[Ocean2026]

Detroit Zack - amazing you can come up with stuff like that. Someone names a bldg and you have the inside and outside pics available. The inside obviously needs a lot of work and then what could be done with it? What is the area like?

[Lorax]

Naturally the neighborhood is a war zone. The building could be anything- which is preferable to demolishing it, which I would bet will be it's fate, only after the homeless burn it this winter trying to stay warm.

Churches don't pay property taxes, so I would advise anyone buying it to go in with papers setting up a church, but then use it for your home, business, whatever will save the building. If it gets newly assessed for property taxes as some entity other than a "church" then it will have a 50k per year tax bill due to the city's incompetence.

Lease it out to a church that needs space, or hold services only on Sunday- but using it for some other purpose is it's only chance at this point.

The heat bill alone would run 5k per month in the winter, so alternate forms of heating would be needed. I would put a fire pit in the center and run the flue up the center through the skylight, making the sanctuary a living room.