The Historic Unitarian Church on Woodward Destroyed by Fire

**Danny** · May-10-14, 06:01 AM

The Historic Unitarian Church on Woodward Ave. and Edmund St is on Fire. Who could do such a thing to that beautiful pink sandstone building?

Image from Detroitubex Facebook page

**masterblaster** · May-10-14, 06:05 AM

Yeah, I saw the flames from near Cass Tech about 30 minutes ago. Is this the church building that was vacant, stripped, and deteriorated, or the one next to it?

**hastings paradise** · May-10-14, 08:31 AM

Dang. That's not just a fire bug, someone wanted that gone.

**jcole** · May-10-14, 09:19 AM

It's not the pink one that's on fire; it's the brown one on the other side of Edmund Place. The pink one is the Presbyterian Church; the other one to the south is the Unitarian church that is abandoned.

**animatedmartian** · May-10-14, 10:01 AM

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...9112636&type=3

Here are the pictures via Detroiturbex. The church is a complete loss. I don't understand why the owner couldn't just sell it.

**Django** · May-10-14, 10:07 AM

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**WaCoTS** · May-10-14, 10:11 AM

its a national historic landmark...i say it should be preserved in-situ kind of like they do in Europe with old bombed-out churches. stabilize the outer walls and let it be a monument.

that'll fix the jackass owner's wagon. [[if indeed he was the one who arsonated it to get rid of it, as has been suggested)

**WaCoTS** · May-10-14, 10:14 AM

according to this guy the original Tiffany-style windows of the church are on display in the DIA

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · May-10-14, 10:19 AM

This really disturbs my Unitarian Universalist heart.

**SaintMe** · May-10-14, 10:28 AM

I hate this city

**Khartoum** · May-10-14, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by WaCoTS

its a national historic landmark...i say it should be preserved in-situ kind of like they do in Europe with old bombed-out churches. stabilize the outer walls and let it be a monument.

A nice idea but you can't have the 2016-17 Red Wings fans suffering from burning, bloody, fiery eyes at the sight of such an eyesore [[as they'll bemoan).

**WaCoTS** · May-10-14, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Khartoum

A nice idea but you can't have the 2016-17 Red Wings fans suffering from burning, bloody, fiery eyes at the sight of such an eyesore [[as they'll bemoan).

ok, so put a sign out front that says it is the ruins of the historic old Olympia Stadium that was bombed by the Nazis in WWII. 60% of them would never know the difference, and will be taking selfies in front of it in no time.

**Scottathew** · May-10-14, 11:27 AM

What's wrong with suburban Red Wings fans! They don't want to be in a shelled out, burnt down, tagged up neighborhood?

If someone wants to de-blight a Detroit neighborhood they must be an elitist exo-burbanite!

**KJ5** · May-10-14, 11:27 AM

Guess they need more parking for that fancy new arena they're getting such a sweetheart deal on. What a shame!

**EASTSIDE CAT 67-83** · May-10-14, 11:33 AM

What a shame, how old was the church?

**KJ5** · May-10-14, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by 48307

What's wrong with suburban Red Wings fans! They don't want to be in a shelled out, burnt down, tagged up neighborhood?

If someone wants to de-blight a Detroit neighborhood they must be an elitist exo-burbanite!

There was no graffiti on that church and it seemed to be structurally sound. I wonder who would profit from such a heinous act? Hmmm....

**Danny** · May-10-14, 11:40 AM

The historic church is long gone. Let the demolition begin.

**animatedmartian** · May-10-14, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by EASTSIDE CAT 67-83

What a shame, how old was the church?

125 years young.

**p69rrh51** · May-10-14, 12:49 PM

Designed by Donaldson & Meier. First Unitarian Church of Detroit 2870 Woodward Avenue built in 1890 First Unitarian-Universalist Church Historic District Detroit, MI. Includes images from the Inland Architect and Burton Historical Collection circa 1900 and 1915.

**WaCoTS** · May-10-14, 01:02 PM

this church probably does not have structural stone walls--they are probably curtain walls, meaning that preserving it as a ruin wouldnt be as practical, but, food for thought:

hey, whaddya know--our very own ForgottenDetroit speaks on the topic:
http://www.forgottendetroit.com/blog/?p=188

by now it is painfully obvious that people do come to detroit expecting to view ruins. why not give them what they want? it doesnt have to be a negative portrayal.

**EastsideAl** · May-10-14, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Designed by Donaldson & Meier. First Unitarian Church of Detroit 2870 Woodward Avenue built in 1890 First Unitarian-Universalist Church Historic District Detroit, MI. Includes images from the Inland Architect and Burton Historical Collection circa 1900 and 1915.

Ironic that this came so soon after the demolition of the nearby Temple Hotel. As I wrote about on the Temple Hotel thread, the original and longtime [[from 1864 to his death in 1898) resident of the house that became the hotel was Albert G. Boynton. He was a lawyer, judge, co-owner of the Free Press, and its political editor for 25 years. The Boynton school and neighborhood on the southwest side are named for his wife, Frances.

He was also a Unitarian, a trustee of the congregation, and was the person in charge of the building of this church. He was the one who chose Donaldson & Meier as the architects, approved their plans, and managed the fundraising and budget to get it built.

A very sad loss. Judge Boynton's revenge? Ilitch's parking clearance program? A timely insurance claim? Or just the type of accident that often befalls old empty buildings?

**WaCoTS** · May-10-14, 01:18 PM

also, if you've ever been thru the Upper Peninsula, they have Keweenaw Heritage Sites managed by the National Park Service, and one of them is an old mine location where the old ruined stone blg shells have been cleaned up and stabilized, and you can walk around in them.
http://www.quincymine.com
i think there's actually several places like that up there. like the Upper Peninsula, Detroit has nothing but a surplus of open spaces and old crumbling historic blgs that no one is about to do anything with. might as well curate the ruins as a public attraction...i mean this is a structure that is on the Nat'l Historic Register, and is under investigation as an arson after the owner allegedly failed to get demolition permission. seems like you could dissuade more people from torching their blgs like this if A) you were able to pin arson on them, and B) if there were rules in place requiring a landmark blg must be considered for preservation as a standing ruin in the event of a fire, especially a suspected arson.

**Jimaz** · May-10-14, 05:40 PM

From Street View [[September 2013) it doesn't look like it was in very good shape. Not just the roof but the stonework too.

Adorable architecture though.

**emu steve** · May-10-14, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

The historic church is long gone. Let the demolition begin.

Sad loss. That church had architecture.

This might sound paradoxical, but the development of the new arena actually would have been a reason for that historic church to be saved and redeveloped [[had today's fire not happened).

Without development across the street, i.e., the arena, there would be no development in the area and hasn't been and the church would have continued to degrade.

Once development begins structures will be evaluated. Some will be lost, e.g., Temple Hotel, but some will be saved.

Leaving structures unoccupied and not maintained for decades is not a historic preservation strategy.

Something needs to be done to stop the decline.

**Bham1982** · May-10-14, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by emu steve

This might sound paradoxical, but the development of the new arena actually would have been a reason for that historic church to be saved and redeveloped [[had today's fire not happened).

Because we all know hockey fans love attending Unitarian Services prior to/following hockey games. That's why the JLA area is flooded with Unitarian churchgoers.