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St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church (Detroit, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church is a church located at the corner of Baldwin Avenue and St. Paul Avenue in Detroit, Michigan
. The church address is 1515 Baldwin Street; ancillary buildings are located at 1491 Baldwin Street (Rectory) and 1480 Townsend Street (School Building). The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989.
was established to minister to this congregation. A wood-frame church was constructed for the parish, and quickly expanded. As Detroit grew, the parish grew along with it, with French, German, Irish, Scotch, and English immigrant congregants in addition to the original Belgians. By 1920, the congregation numbered over 3000. By the 1930s, the school's population also included many Catholic children of Syrian and Italian immigrants.
In 1912, the two-story rectory and school was designed and built by Van Leyen & Schilling. In 1918, Peter Dederichs was awarded a contract to build an "edifice of Romanesque style for religious use." Just four years after the church was completed, it was expanded to meet the needs of the growing congregation.
The church is still used today, although the congregation has altered. The rectory serves its original function, and the school is leased by the Church of Messiah.
The church is built with red-brown tapestry brick on a white Bedford stone foundation, with trim of the same stone. The church is built in a Latin Cross plan, 92 feet across and 180 feet in depth. The design is Romanesque
with Arts and Crafts
elements. The front facade is flanked by asymmetric towers with red tiled hip-roofs. The entranceway is within a two-story arched structure with columns on each side, above which is a large rose window. Rosettes are in the spandrels above the entrance arches, and green tile fills the spandrels and pediments of the front and side facades. The decorative brick pilasters around the central arch are derived from Prairie School or Arts and Crafts models.
The main altar is Baroque
in style. The organ was built in two sections to clear the rose window
above the main entrance.
The school and rectory were designed in the Prairie
style with some Byzantine
elements.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The church address is 1515 Baldwin Street; ancillary buildings are located at 1491 Baldwin Street (Rectory) and 1480 Townsend Street (School Building). The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1989.
History
In the late 1850s, Belgian Catholics immigrated to Detroit and settled in the eastside neighborhoods near Gratiot and Baldwin. In 1886, a parish dedicated to St. Charles BorromeoCharles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo was the cardinal archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was a leading figure during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests...
was established to minister to this congregation. A wood-frame church was constructed for the parish, and quickly expanded. As Detroit grew, the parish grew along with it, with French, German, Irish, Scotch, and English immigrant congregants in addition to the original Belgians. By 1920, the congregation numbered over 3000. By the 1930s, the school's population also included many Catholic children of Syrian and Italian immigrants.
In 1912, the two-story rectory and school was designed and built by Van Leyen & Schilling. In 1918, Peter Dederichs was awarded a contract to build an "edifice of Romanesque style for religious use." Just four years after the church was completed, it was expanded to meet the needs of the growing congregation.
The church is still used today, although the congregation has altered. The rectory serves its original function, and the school is leased by the Church of Messiah.
Description
The St. Charles Borromeo parish complex consists of four buildings, three of which are historically significant: the church itself, the rectory, and the school.The church is built with red-brown tapestry brick on a white Bedford stone foundation, with trim of the same stone. The church is built in a Latin Cross plan, 92 feet across and 180 feet in depth. The design is Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
with Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
elements. The front facade is flanked by asymmetric towers with red tiled hip-roofs. The entranceway is within a two-story arched structure with columns on each side, above which is a large rose window. Rosettes are in the spandrels above the entrance arches, and green tile fills the spandrels and pediments of the front and side facades. The decorative brick pilasters around the central arch are derived from Prairie School or Arts and Crafts models.
The main altar is Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
in style. The organ was built in two sections to clear the rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
above the main entrance.
The school and rectory were designed in the Prairie
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
style with some Byzantine
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
elements.
External links
- St. Charles Borromeo Parish from the Archdiocese of Detroit