The Historic Unitarian Church on Woodward Destroyed by Fire

[Király]

This really disturbs my Unitarian Universalist heart.

Mine too. This church was top of my list of places to see when I was in Detroit for a weekend on 2014.

[Király]

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.

Too late for that. I heard that all the outer walls have now collapsed and the church is a pile of rubble.

[Hypestyles]

I got to see it from afar, heading south on Woodward earlier today.. only could get a little bit south of MLK/Mack before the police blocked off access..

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

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.

That's an idiotic statement even for you. There are plenty of ways to repurpose a church other than as a place of worship. Besides, there's already a great UU church in midtown.

[Bham1982]

That's an idiotic statement even for you. There are plenty of ways to repurpose a church other than as a place of worship. Besides, there's already a great UU church in midtown.

Could you give us one of these "plenty of ways" to repurpose that are based on arrival of a hockey arena?

[gvidas]

FWIW, the city wanted to demo the building back in 2007.

2860 woodward lis pendens.pdf

[48202]

Could you give us one of these "plenty of ways" to repurpose that are based on arrival of a hockey arena?

Would have been a great microbrewery-restaurant.

http://www.churchbrew.com/

[ptero]

Could you give us one of these "plenty of ways" to repurpose that are based on arrival of a hockey arena?

There's the great repurpose of a church into a restaurant in Clarkston... Would be a huge plus for pre and post game activity across the three stadia/arenas.

http://clarkstonunion.com/#!/about.html

[antongast]

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!

If they don't want to be here, then they should go somewhere else. I have it on good authority that the suburbs contain establishments known as "sports bars" in which televised sporting events can be viewed in a pleasantly blight-free environment.

This would allow me to enjoy my shelled out burnt down tagged up neighborhood in peace without a bunch of drunken fuckheads tromping through it.

[JenniferL]

How to repurpose a church? It's Midtown-- turn it all into luxury loftominiums!

I don't know how long that church has been vacant, but it has looked empty for around ten years or do. There were always vagrants hanging around outside, between that church and the other one next door. When walking from WSU to downtown, I would avoid that particular side of the street.

[Honky Tonk]

There's the great repurpose of a church into a restaurant in Clarkston... Would be a huge plus for pre and post game activity across the three stadia/arenas.

http://clarkstonunion.com/#!/about.html

Clarkston! Home of "Made In Detroit" products! Actually, the food is pretty good there. And yes, they did a great job repurposing that church. But as we all know "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown".

[EastsideAl]

Could you give us one of these "plenty of ways" to repurpose that are based on arrival of a hockey arena?

I was just in one last week during my trip to NYC. John's Pizza in the Theater District.



And what could be more pleasing to hockey fans [[or pretty much everyone else, for that matter) than a church full of pizza and beer?

[the rock]

Was the organ removed from the church when it closed so many years ago? I hope it was not destroyed in the fire. I thought I read that a group was removing it, but I do not recall the time frame envolved.

[emu steve]

I was just in one last week during my trip to NYC. John's Pizza in the Theater District.



And what could be more pleasing to hockey fans [[or pretty much everyone else, for that matter) than a church full of pizza and beer?

What is interesting if it someone would have bought and redeveloped it and to compete head to head with Hockeytown?

Nice site for pre-game eats and near a M-1 stop [[correct)?

[Hermod]

This really disturbs my Unitarian Universalist heart.

Well, it was abandoned by the Unitarians. If it was important to the denomination, they should have kept it fixed up and occupied.

[Hermod]

Would have been a great microbrewery-restaurant.

http://www.churchbrew.com/

Yup, the 48202 Corporation LLC should have bought it and invested the money to open an microbrewery-restaurant.

Good old DetroitYes, always ready to spend OPM.

[SDCC]

The old Navy chapel in San Diego was converted into the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center. The facility is small and certain displays [[conflicts) are rotated, however it is a beautiful facility.

[wingedwheel1983]

Would have been a great microbrewery-restaurant.

http://www.churchbrew.com/

I was thinking the same thing. This building would have made a great brewery and restaurant. I know Atwater was looking for more space a while back. Oh well. Another historic Detroit building bites the dust.

[emu steve]

I am sad that this abandoned church was destroyed.

It was in an ideal location and had real historic value and potential for redevelopment.

I can say none of that for the Temple Hotel. [[Actually the Temple Hotel was in the way).

[EastsideAl]

Well, it was abandoned by the Unitarians. If it was important to the denomination, they should have kept it fixed up and occupied.

To be fair, the church was abandoned by one of the successor congregations to the Unitarians.

The Unitarians left the building in 1934 when the city's widening of Woodward Ave. forced them to move. The widening cut off the front of the church and diminished its capacity, as the area behind the front facade had to be cut out and the facade moved back over 100 ft. So, they moved in with the Universalist Church of Our Father at Cass and Prentis [[built 1916, also designed by Donaldson & Meier) and soon thereafter the two congregations merged as First Unitarian-Universalist [[their national churches united in 1951). My parents were married in that church while students at Wayne. The congregation remains there today.

The church on Woodward was sold to the Church of Christ in 1937. The Church of Christ remained there until 1984. The building went through a number of congregations [[Cathedral of Praise Baptist, the Church in the City) before it was finally abandoned by the Resurrection Praise Church in the early 2000s.

[rex]

How much would a lot in Brush Park cost?

[SDCC]

To be fair, the church was abandoned by one of the successor congregations to the Unitarians.

The Unitarians left the building in 1934 when the city's widening of Woodward Ave. forced them to move. The widening cut off the front of the church and diminished its capacity, as the area behind the front facade had to be cut out and the facade moved back over 100 ft. So, they moved in with the Universalist Church of Our Father at Cass and Prentis [[built 1916) and soon thereafter the two congregations merged as First Unitarian-Universalist [[their national churches united in 1951). My parents were married in that church while students at Wayne. The congregation remains there today.

The church on Woodward was sold to the Church of Christ in 1937. The Church of Christ remained there until 1984. The building went through a number of congregations [[Cathedral of Praise Baptist, the Church in the City) before it was finally abandoned by the Resurrection Praise Church in the early 2000s.

Interesting history

[EastsideAl]

Incidentally, 3 beautiful John LaFarge windows from this church, that were removed way back in 1936 for the widening of Woodward, are in the DIA.



More pictures and more on the windows from our friend Pinehurst19475:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/712887...n/photostream/
A lot more background from the Michigan Stained Glass Census:
http://www.michiganstainedglass.org/...h=05&year=2002
John LaFarge bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_LaFarge

I was afraid that another LaFarge window, dedicated to the aforementioned Judge Albert G. Boynton, had gone down with the church. As it remained in place in the church into the late 1980s. But it appears to have been removed to a private collection in Virginia.

Attachment 23487

[GUSHI]

How sad a beautiful old building destroyed.

[Khorasaurus]

Could you give us one of these "plenty of ways" to repurpose that are based on arrival of a hockey arena?

Grand Rapids and Pittsburgh both have very successful bars in old churches. And hockey fans love to drink.