First Unitarian Church of Detroit

First Unitarian Church of Detroit
First Unitarian Church seen from Woodward
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Built: 1889
Architect: Donaldson and Meier
Architectural style: Romanesque
Governing body: Private
MPS: Religious Structures of Woodward Ave. TR
NRHP Reference#: 82002899[1]
Added to NRHP: August 3, 1982

The First Unitarian Church of Detroit is located at 2870 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1]

Contents

History

The First Congregational Unitarian Society was incorporated on October 6, 1850. This church, their second, was dedicated in November, 1890.[2] The congregation used the church until 1936, when the widening of Woodward Avenue required a remodelling of the church. At that time, the worshipped with the Universalist Church of Our Father. This arrangement worked out so well that the two congregations merged.[2] The First Congregational building was then sold in 1937 to the Church of Christ denomination. The building went through other owners before finally being abandoned.[2]

Architecture

The First Unitarian Church of Detroit is a Romanesque Revival-style church built of red sandstone; although somewhat remodelled during the 1936 widening of Woodward, it remains substantially as built.[2] The gabled facade has a great expanse of masonry; a simple four-bay porch with a shed roof and stone Romanesque columns spans the first floor. There is a two-story hip-roofed projection at the corner, and a side porch with stone piers covers a side entrance.[2]

References and further reading

Notes

External links