Listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its amazing architecture, the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit needs to be saved.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its fascinating history and its amazing architecture, the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit, Michigan is one that needs to be saved. Let’s consider that it was designed by the Cleveland, Ohio firm of Nicklas & Badgley in the Gothic Revival architectural style and that it was outfitted with curved wood pews and a distinct pipe organ from the Stevens Organ Company of Marietta, Ohio. That’s unique.
Even more noteworthy was that the church was designed in the Akron Plan auditorium type, a rarity. The fixed sweating was arranged in a semi-circle on two levels, lit by an open lantern in the center of a deep vaulted ceiling.
This church has been vacant for just a decade. But in Detroit, that’s an eternity. With a suspicious fire that gutted another vacant church down the street, the city and the community need to step up to prevent something similar from happening to this giant.
Step inside this historic church »
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Add Yours →Greetings! I’m currently working on a manuscript devoted to the Akron Plan and will very much want to include some of the images you’ve taken. They are spectacular. Detroit was rich in Akron-type churches. I believe our two projects can reinforce one another. Write me at plains.architgecture@gmail.com and let’s get acquainted.