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Ann Daniels
Professor Gonsior
WRT 3100
2015 February 24
Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Since growing older I have had an increased desire to see old churches and buildings in
Detroit. I love the old architecture, sizes and shapes of the buildings that were once extremely
beautiful. An older building that stands out most is Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Every time
we go to downtown Detroit to Greektown, I stop to admire the gorgeous huge church. Old St.
Mary can be seen from the inside of the Greektown casino, as you walk through an enclosed
walkway to the playing floor. Being that I was raised Catholic we only attended modern shaped
churches, but after taking an art history coarse I have been intrigued by antique buildings. The
church has high vaulted ceilings, stain glass windows, and the large peaks and pillars are
stunning. The church is within the Greektown historical district so I assume that it may receive
some funding through them, but the rest are through public and private donations. Though the
church still is open to public and holds daily masses, the age of the church brings forth many
expenses. There are many objects and structures within it that to upkeep or replace will either
cost a tremendous amount of money or are irreplaceable. It is very rare to find new structures
built so well and beautiful.
The formal name is St. Mary Roman Catholic Church. It was originally called the Church
of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1841. St. Mary Roman Catholic
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Church is the third oldest Roman Catholic parish in Detroit, Michigan with a German parish. The
parish started from German immigrants. It is often called Old St. Mary's Church to avoid
confusion with other St. Mary's parishes within the surrounding neighborhoods of the Wayne
County and Detroit areas. The complex originally consisted of the church constructed in 1841
which was later replaced in 1884 with the current structure styled in Victorian gothic by Peter
Dedericks (oldstmarysdetroit.com). The complex also consists of a rectory constructed in 1876, a
school constructed in 1868, and a convent constructed in 1922. The convent was demolished in
the early 2000s and replaced with a community center designed to resemble the 1841 church
building.
Old St. Mary’s has a longitudinal cruciform plan. The church is constructed of red brick
and limestone accents in the Romanesque style with Venetian accents (detroit1701.org). It has
three grottos at the rear of the church. One grotto is the baptistery on the epistle side of the
building, the second grotto is an altar where weekly mass is celebrated and on the opposite side
of the church is the third grotto which depicts the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane the night
before the crucifixion. The west façade or front entrance is dominated by twin towers which
frame a large rose window. One remarkable feature of the church interior is the ten polished
granite columns which divide the main aisles and side aisles. The columns are each cut from a
single piece of granite and are so large that they would be impossible to replace as granite is
becoming and obsolete product of the earth (oldstmarysdetroit.com). Old St. Mary has ninety
foot vaulted ceilings. On the ceiling, at the center of the transept near the front of the altar, is an
exceptional painting of the Patroness, who is referred to as the Virgin Mary. The roof needs to be
up kept extremely well to prevent any water damage to the paintings on the high ceilings. The
twin towers on the west side of the building that help give shape to the cities sky line, hidden
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above their porticos or entrances is a gallery of pillars and two huge stone roses
(oldstmarysdetroit.com). The towers also frame a large circular, rose stain glass window. Stain
glass windows are not as popular as they once were, so finding a company or someone to fix any
broken glass may propose a great challenge. The interior of the church is emphasized by its light
blue color tones, which creates a calm relaxing atmosphere (city-data.com). Old St. Mary prides
itself on musical quality. Its major contributor to music is its present organ, which dates back to
1928 and is irreplaceable. The organ is the sister organ to the one in New York's St. Patrick's
Cathedral.
Because of the age of Old St. Mary, the care takers have to keep up on any physical or
structural issues that may come about. If not kept up with the church will easily start to fall apart
and become vacant like many other buildings in the city of Detroit. Because Old St. Mary is part
of the Greektown Historical district, it is protected from any contractors coming through to
purchase their land and demolish the building. I will continue to admire the building, and will
enjoy seeing it just as gorgeous in the future.
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Works Cited
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church official web site, Np. Web. 24 Feb. 2015
http://oldstmarysdetroit.com
City Data. Articles. “Old St. Mary Church.” Np. Web. 24 Feb. 2015
http://www.city-data.com/articles/Old-St-Marys-Church-Detroit-Michigan
Detroit history and future of the motor city. Religious Sites. “St. Mary Roman Catholic Church.”
Np. Web. 24 Feb. 2015
http://detroit1701.org/St.%20Mary's