The Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church is a church in Detroit Michigan

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"....

 located at 8501 Woodward Avenue. Built in 1911 in the Gothic revival

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 style, the architect was Sidney Badgley

Sidney Badgley

Sidney Rose Badgley was a prominent turn-of-the-century Canadian-born architect. He was active throughout the United States and Canada, with a significant body of work in Cleveland.-Biography:...

. It was used for some time as the Abyssinia Church of God in Christ. The building 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 1982.

History

By 1908, the Presbyterians in Detroit recognized the need for a church to serve congregants located in what was then the "north" Woodward area. Mrs. Tracy McGregor donated a lot along Woodward, and the cornerstone for the church was laid on January 1, 1910. The church was dedicated on June 23 of the next year.

Architecture

Woodward Avenue Presbyterian is an English Gothic-style church, faced with rough rock and trimmed with a contrasting limestone, and measuring 184 feet long by 104 feet wide. The Woodward Avenue facade boasts a massive carved-stone entrance with a traceried stained glass window set above; two square towers flank the center entrance. Along the side, gabled transepts contain full-height traceried windows. A two-story educational wing, built at the same time as the main church building, abuts the rear.

Today

Until the spring of 2010, Woodward Avenue Presbyterian was abandoned, and has fallen into disrepair. More recently the property has been purchased by a group looking to convert the building into a homeless shelter.

External links

• Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church at Detroiturbex.com