St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church was a church located at 8363 and 8383 Townsend Avenue in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1989, but was subsequently demolished.St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church Profile 1985
from PolishAncestry.com

History

St Thomas the Apostle Detroit DEMOLISHED

St. Thomas the Apostle Parish was a Polish-American

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish founded in 1914, at the eastern edge of the east side Polish neighborhoods of Detroit. A church was constructed in 1923, and the parish had both a grade school and a high school. The parish was one of the first to experience changes in population, as the original Polish residents began moving out in the mid-20th century. The parish was closed in 1989, and the church demolished in 1993. The school currently serves as St. Thomas Assessment Center for troubled youths.St. Thomas Assessment Center
from Holy Cross

Description

The parish complex at St. Thomas the Apostle comprised six buildings, including the church, rectory, school, and convent.
from the state of Michigan The church was essentially of Romanesque design, with some

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

aspects. It was built of brick laid over Dennison interlocking tile, sitting atop a limestone base. The building was trimmed with limestone and Tuscan glazed

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...

in various colors. The facade was a series of gable-roof blocks, roofed with Spanish tile. The primary entrance was through a central, side-gable block, sized to match the nave. The entrance was recessed into the center of a projecting porch and surrounded by columned arches. A massive Eucharistic relief was set high in the center of the facade. The church boasted a wealth of decorative art, including stained glass and bronze works. The rectory was a large, two-story building with a dormer-attic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas the Apostles Church (Detroit, Michigan Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Michigan Polish-American culture in Detroit Roman Catholic churches completed in 1923 Demolished buildings and structures in Detroit Demolished churches in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1994 National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States