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Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church, 1883 (Detroit, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church, located at 5930 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan
, began in 1907. It was originally built as St. Joseph's Episcopal Church from 1893 to 1896 and is an historic Romanesque Revival
church complex. On August 3, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982.
In 1906, St. Joseph's congregation merged with that of the congregation of the nearby St. Paul's Cathedral
. The St. Joseph's building was sold to Father Francis J. Vananthwerp in 1907, and Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church was established. The new congregation altered some of the church's structure, extending the nave and adding an oversized, gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary atop the south tower's hipped roof
.
Romanesque Revival structure. The gabled facade is flanked by two towers: a tall, square, pyramid-roofed tower to the south and a round, conical-roofed tower on the north. The entrance between the towers is into a one-story vestibule; it is surmounted by a large rose window
.
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"....
, began in 1907. It was originally built as St. Joseph's Episcopal Church from 1893 to 1896 and is an historic Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
church complex. On August 3, 1982, it was added to 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
The original building in this complex, St. Joseph's Memorial Chapel, was a gift of Mrs. L.R. Medbury, and was built on the corner or Woodward and Medbury (now the Edsel Ford service drive). The chapel, consecrated in 1884, soon proved too small, and a larger church, completed in 1896, was erected facing Woodward.In 1906, St. Joseph's congregation merged with that of the congregation of the nearby St. Paul's Cathedral
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Detroit is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. The cathedral is located at 4800 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to the campus of Wayne State University. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in...
. The St. Joseph's building was sold to Father Francis J. Vananthwerp in 1907, and Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic Church was established. The new congregation altered some of the church's structure, extending the nave and adding an oversized, gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary atop the south tower's hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
.
Architecture
The church, built from 1893 to 1896, is a massive rock-faced, cross-gable-roofed, sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
Romanesque Revival structure. The gabled facade is flanked by two towers: a tall, square, pyramid-roofed tower to the south and a round, conical-roofed tower on the north. The entrance between the towers is into a one-story vestibule; it is surmounted by a large 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...
.