First Congregational Church (Detroit)

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = First Congregational Church

| nrhp_type = cp

| nocat = yes

| image = First Congressional Church of Christ, Detroit, Michigan.tif

| caption = First Congregational Church in 2019, photograph by Carol M. Highsmith.

| location = 33 East Forest Avenue
Detroit, Michigan

| coordinates = {{coord|42|21|19|N|83|3|46|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin =

| area =

| built = 1891; 1921 (addition)

| architect = John Lyman Faxon; Albert Kahn

| architecture = Romanesque Revival

| added = June 4, 1979

| refnum = 79001173{{NRISref|2007a}}

| designated_other1 = Michigan State Historic Site

| designated_other1_date = July 26, 1974{{cite web|title = First Congregational Church|publisher = Michigan State Housing Development Authority|url = http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/15512.htm|access-date = September 2, 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120517125015/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/15512.htm|archive-date = May 17, 2012|url-status = dead}}

| designated_other1_number =

| designated_other1_num_position = bottom

}}

The First Congregational Church is located at 33 East Forest Avenue (on the corner of Forest and Woodward Avenue) in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

History

The First Congregational Church of Detroit was established on December 25, 1844. Two church buildings were built near the Detroit 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.[http://www.friendsoffirst.com/home/content.asp?ID=1 First Congregational Church of Detroit ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080525084823/http://www.friendsoffirst.com/home/content.asp?ID=1 |date=2008-05-25 }} History page

Gaius Glenn Atkins served twice as minister of the church in the early 20th century.

Architecture

The church is designed in a blend of the Romanesque and Byzantine styles,Tutag, Nola Huse, & Hamilton, Lucy (1987). [https://books.google.com/books?id=SiUsbJk-1KMC&pg=PA57 Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit], p. 57. Wayne State University Press. using rough-hewn, warm red limestone. The Woodward facade has a five-bay loggia, with a parapeted 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.[http://www.detroit1701.org/FirstCongregational.htm First Congregational Church] from Detroit1701

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 interior murals were designed and executed by Lyle Durgin,{{cite web|title=About Us - First Congregational Church of Detroit|url=http://www.friendsoffirst.com/about-us/|publisher=First Congregational Church of Detroit|access-date=March 1, 2017}} completed in December, 1891.{{sfn|Willard|Livermore|1897|p=265}}

Living museum

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.

Gallery

Image:First Congregational Church Detroit MI 1899.jpg|First Congregational Church, c. 1899

Image:First Congregational Church 1903.jpg|First Congregational Church, c. 1903

Image:First Congregational Church (Detroit, Michigan).jpg|First Congregational Church in 2008

Image:First Congregational Church Angel.jpg|The angel Uriel atop the First Congregational Church

References

=Bibliography=

{{cite book|last1=Willard|first1=Frances Elizabeth|last2=Livermore|first2=Mary Ashton Rice|title=American Women: Fifteen Hundred Biographies with Over 1,400 Portraits : a Comprehensive Encyclopedia of the Lives and Achievements of American Women During the Nineteenth Century|url=https://archive.org/details/americanwomenfif01live|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanwomenfif01live/page/265 265]|edition=Public domain|year=1897|publisher=Mast, Crowell & Kirkpatrick}}

{{commons category|First Congregational Church (Detroit, Michigan)}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080423040005/http://www.friendsoffirst.com/home/ Official First Congregational Church website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20080517135336/http://www.the-ugrr.org/ Underground Railroad Living Museum]

{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan|state=collapsed}}

Category:Churches in Detroit

Category:Congregational churches in Michigan

Category:Midtown Detroit

Category:Woodward Avenue

Category:History museums in Michigan

Category:Museums in Detroit

Category:Religious museums in Michigan

Category:Churches completed in 1891

Category:19th-century churches in the United States

Category:Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Category:Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan