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First Congregational Church (Detroit, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
The First Congregational Church is located at 33 E. Forest (on the corner of Forest and Woodward Avenue) in Detroit, Michigan
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
. The third building was constructed at the present site in 1891, and was designed by architect John Lyman Faxon. An addition to the church, known as the Angel's Wing, was constructed in 1921 by Albert Kahn.
and Byzantine
styles, using rough-hewn, warm red limestone. The Woodward facade has a five-bay loggia
, with a parapet
ed front gable. Above that are rounded windows with tracery framed by a rounded arch. The church also features a 120-foot campanile
with many narrow arcades. The church is topped by an 8-foot copper figure of the Archangel Uriel
.
The church is patterned after churches found in Venice
and Ravenna
. The sanctuary
, which resembles the lower church of St. Francis of Assisi
, boasts carved wood, ceiling portraits, rose windows and sumptuous colors.
The church offers exhibits about the historical and architectural aspects of the church, its buildings and activities. Visitors can go on self-guided tours of the historic facilities and buildings.
The church also hosts the Underground Railroad Living Museum, a storytelling simulation of the original Underground Railroad
.
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"....
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and 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 1979.
History
The First Congregational Church of Detroit was established on December 25, 1844. Two church buildings were built near the Detroit RiverDetroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...
. The third building was constructed at the present site in 1891, and was designed by architect John Lyman Faxon. An addition to the church, known as the Angel's Wing, was constructed in 1921 by Albert Kahn.
Architecture
The church is designed in a blend of the RomanesqueRomanesque 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,...
and 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...
styles, using rough-hewn, warm red limestone. The Woodward facade has a five-bay loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
, with a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
ed front gable. Above that are rounded windows with tracery framed by a rounded arch. The church also features a 120-foot campanile
Campanile
Campanile is an Italian word meaning "bell tower" . The term applies to bell towers which are either part of a larger building or free-standing, although in American English, the latter meaning has become prevalent.The most famous campanile is probably the Leaning Tower of Pisa...
with many narrow arcades. The church is topped by an 8-foot copper figure of the Archangel Uriel
Uriel
Uriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
.
The church is patterned after churches found in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
. The sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, which resembles the lower church of St. Francis of Assisi
Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi
The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor—commonly known as the Franciscan Order—in Assisi, Italy, the city where St. Francis was born and died. The basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy...
, boasts carved wood, ceiling portraits, rose windows and sumptuous colors.
First Congregational Living Museum
The church also hosts the Underground Railroad Living Museum, a storytelling simulation of the original Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.