Saint Paul Catholic Church (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
The Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex is located at 157 Lake Shore Rd. in the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
. The group includes a French Gothic
style church, a Neo-Tudor rectory, a Colonial Revival
parish hall, a Neo-Tudor school building, and an Elizabethan Revival convent. The complex was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1992 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1994.
. The first building specifically built for worship was a log church, dedicated in 1825 by Father Francis Badin, located near the lake in what is now Grosse Pointe Shores. The parish was officially organized in 1835, and in 1848 the log church was replaced by a frame chapel located on the site of the current church.
The present church building was designed by Harry J. Rill and was completed in 1899 at a cost of just over $23,000. The older frame structure was used as the parish hall until it was dismantled in 1914. The rectory was added in 1911, and the original portions of the school and convent buildings, designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, were built in 1927. Additions to the school were completed in 1951 and 1953. The parish house, originally built around 1900 for former Detroit Mayor Alexander Lewis
, was purchased by the parish in 1959.
The Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex sits on a long, narrow plot of land between Lake Shore Road and Grosse Pointe Boulevard. The church is constructed of brick and stone, and is designed in the French Gothic Revival style. The stained glass windows were made by Fredericks & Wolfram Art Glass Company of Detroit (installed in 1901) and Franz Mayer & Company of Munich, Germany, (installed in 1924).
Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan
Grosse Pointe Farms is a suburban city bordering Detroit located in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It ranks as the 76th highest-income city in America. The population was 9,479 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Grosse Pointe on the west, Detroit on the north, Grosse Pointe Woods...
. The group includes a French Gothic
French Gothic architecture
French Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500.-Sequence of Gothic styles: France:The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows:* Early Gothic* High Gothic...
style church, a Neo-Tudor rectory, a Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
parish hall, a Neo-Tudor school building, and an Elizabethan Revival convent. The complex was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1992 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 1994.
History
The St. Paul Roman Catholic parish was the first Catholic parish in the Grosse Pointes. The origins of the parish date to the 1790s, when French Catholic priests were ministering to settlers in what was then a primarily agricultural area along Lake St. ClairLake Saint Clair (North America)
Lake St. Clair is a fresh-water lake named after Clare of Assisi that lies between the Province of Ontario and the State of Michigan, and its midline also forms the boundary between Canada and the United States of America. Lake St. Clair includes the Anchor Bay along the Metro Detroit coastline...
. The first building specifically built for worship was a log church, dedicated in 1825 by Father Francis Badin, located near the lake in what is now Grosse Pointe Shores. The parish was officially organized in 1835, and in 1848 the log church was replaced by a frame chapel located on the site of the current church.
Architecture
Alexander Lewis (mayor)
Alexander Lewis was a wholesale goods, insurance, and real estate businessman and mayor of Detroit, Michigan.-Early life:...
, was purchased by the parish in 1959.
The Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex sits on a long, narrow plot of land between Lake Shore Road and Grosse Pointe Boulevard. The church is constructed of brick and stone, and is designed in the French Gothic Revival style. The stained glass windows were made by Fredericks & Wolfram Art Glass Company of Detroit (installed in 1901) and Franz Mayer & Company of Munich, Germany, (installed in 1924).