This large Church Complex in Detroit was Demolished in 1993

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church and Rectory, Detroit Michigan

Date added: June 27, 2024 Categories:

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Designed by the Detroit architectural firm of Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough, specialists in the field of Catholic church architecture in the 1920s, and laden with a wealth of decorative art in stained glass, ceramic tile, limestone, marble, bronze, and wrought iron which date from the time of the church's construction, St. Thomas the Apostle Church is an outstanding example of Catholic church design of the 1920s in Detroit, a city which constructed numerous Catholic churches during that decade of intense growth. Built in the 1924-26 period, this fine church building with its adjacent rectory reflects the rapid growth of the Polish Catholic population on Detroit's east side.

Father Stanley S. Skrycki began to serve the rapidly growing Polish community on Detroit's east side from a small storefront at Harper and Carrie in 1916. In that same year the present parish property was purchased. Construction of the first St. Thomas the Apostle Church, a large but plain brick building containing a combination church and social hall upstairs and classrooms in the basement, and a rectory began in 1917. The Rt. Rev. Edward D. Kelly, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, dedicated this first Church on November 11^th, 1917 in the presence of over 1000 parishioners and their pastor.

By 1924 the population growth of the parish prompted plans for building a new church. Father Skrycki commissioned Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough to design and Joseph Nowakowski & Co. of Detroit to build the new church. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in September 1924, and the cornerstone was laid in December. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated in August 1926, and the formal dedication by Bishop Michael J. Gallagher took place on June 3^rd, 1928. The final cost was about $500,000.

The church's architects, Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough, consisting of Edward C. Van Leyen, Edward A. Schilling, and Henry J. Keough, designed a series of Catholic churches, parishes, and institutional buildings in Detroit from the turn of the century to the Second World War. The firm planned at least three other important Detroit Catholic churches, St. Agnes (1923), Church of the Nativity (1925), and St. Rose of Lima (1927, demolished 1985).

Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough were but one of several firms in Detroit that specialized in the design of Catholic churches and institutional buildings. In the wake of the city's dramatic industrial and population growth in the early twentieth century, the number of Catholic parishes and their populations also increased dramatically. In its size and quality of design and finish, St. Thomas the Apostle is the equal of the other Catholic churches in Detroit built in the 1920s.

Like other 1920s Catholic churches in Detroit and across the United States, St. Thomas was the product of modern vision as well as tradition. The building is nominally Romanesque in form and style, but the architects took considerable liberties in adopting the ancient Romanesque to the needs of a modern Catholic parish. The church's modernism is also reflected in its detailing, much of which reflects an Art Deco influence. The massive Eucharistic relief panel above the main entrance, the borders of the nave and arcade windows, and patterning of the floor and vaulting's acoustical tiles all display Art Deco motifs.

Some plans for the building were never executed. The Great Depression prevented Father Skrycki from commissioning a marble baldachino for the main altar. Some of the windows in the narthex have only cathedral white glass rather than the stained glass that was intended. During World War II, sculptures ordered for the triforium-level niches and principal facade sank with the ship that carried them.

The "new" rectory was also constructed in 1926. The 1921 school building was enlarged in 1936-37 and a large convent was erected in 1952. However, from a large and prosperous parish in the 1950s, St. Thomas parish declined in membership to a small number, and the parish merged with another and the church closed. The original rectory, old church/social hall, school, and convent have already been sold by the archdiocese and the current owners intend to demolish all but the convent, the only building currently in use.

The parish was closed in 1989, and the church was demolished in 1993.

Site Description

The St. Thomas the Apostle Parish Complex is comprised of Six buildings, all standing on a single, rectangular block in east side Detroit. St. Thomas the Apostle Church, a cruciform, brick structure of Romanesque inspiration built in 1924-26, stands at one end of the complex. Directly adjacent is the present rectory, a hip-roof, red brick dwelling of 1926 with a tile roof and Romanesque detailing matching that of the church. The complex also contains the original large but simply detailed church/social hall building constructed in 1917, the old rectory also built in 1917, a school building constructed in 1921 and enlarged in 1936-37, and a convent built in 1952.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church, designed by the architectural firm of Van Leyen, Schilling and Keough in 1924, is a free interpretation of Romanesque church architecture, with Art Deco influences. Facing east on Townsend Avenue, with its north side fronting on Miller Avenue and its back on Wallace Avenue, the church is a Latin-cross-plan basilica measuring 185 feet in length, a maximum of 106 feet in width through the transepts, and sixty-four feet in height to the center of the nave vaulting. The church rests on a base of buff-color, Bedford, Indiana limestone. Its exterior walls are faced with a reddish-brown brick that is laid over Dennison Interlocking Tile. Bedford, Indiana limestone is also used for trim throughout the building, as are tiles of Tuscan Glazed Faience in tones of blue, green, yellow, and orange. The steep, gabled roof of the church is covered in Ludowici-Celadon's Imperial Spanish tile.

A domed bell tower, adjacent to the north transept but detached from it, is visible throughout the area and serves as an important marker of the church's physical and spiritual presence in the community. Designed in an Italian Romanesque manner, the tower consists of a straight, square-plan shaft capped by a dome set on an octagonal base. Twin, round-head openings separated by a Romanesque column are set into a balconette-fronted, round-arch opening near the top of the square-plan shaft. A parapet with a balustraded section in the center of each face forms a cap for the shaft. Inside the parapet a basically octagonal cupola with round-head openings topped by gables on the four primary facades supports a lower octagonal drum, which, in turn, supports a small dome which has chevron-pattern detailing.

The church's facade consists of a series of gable-roof blocks. A central, side-gable block, as wide and high as the nave, contains the primary front entrance and vestibule area. Perched atop the main block is a smaller one, with its cross-topped gable facing the street. This "false front" block extends back from the facade only the width of the vestibule. On either side of the main block is a smaller side-gable block whose width and height correspond with those of the aisle on either side. Each aisle block also contains a single entrance.

The principal front entrance is set in a recess in the center of a projecting porch. Fashioned of Bedford limestone, the gabled entrance porch with its three sets of Romanesque-column-supported arches frames a square-head double door. A grapevine border ornaments the outermost arch; spiral moldings the inner ones. The columns have composite, Romanesque capitals depicting lions, griffins, and birds of prey intertwined with foliate arabesques. An extension of the main portal on each side of the arch provides three niches for sculpture. These niches are separated by spiral colonettes and bounded by columns and capitals like those of the central doorway. The entrance in the front of either aisle block also has a small porch containing columns of similar design capped by a projecting round arch cornice.

Dominating the central part of the facade above the central portico is a massive Eucharistic relief set into a twenty-five-foot high, round-head opening. This relief, depicting a large cross flanked by two adoring angels, is created of stone, bronze, ceramic tile, and stained glass. The stone cross extends the length and width of the opening. Its intersecting arms are joined in a circle of stone that is decorated with two narrow bands of indigo faience and bronze fillets. An outer and wider circle enclosing the cross arms is composed of a series of bronze and pale blue faience insets rimmed with indigo. Interstices between the crossarms are filled with stained glass. This configuration on the inside of the church reads as a cross inscribed in a round window. The arms of the cross are ornamented with narrow bands of faience like those on the circle. Flanking the cross stem are a pair of confronting angels with bronze wings, displayed in profile. Each angel places one foot on a low platform while raising on high a chalice, which each holds with a cloth of honor. From the lower rim of the circle, gilded droplets of blood fall into the gilded chalices. The cloths of honor are also gilded as are the angels' nimbuses. Small gilded clouds are visible in the background.

The small stone circle at the center of the cross represents the consecrated host, or Body of Christ, which was sacrificed on the Cross; the gilded droplets of blood represent the consecrated wine, or Blood of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ's Body and Blood is reenacted during the Mass when believers are invited to receive Communion under both species. A virtually identical Eucharistic motif appears in the brass relief on the tabernacle door of the main altar inside the church.

The columns of the nave and arcade are finished in scagliola and Celotex in imitation of stone covers the interior walls. Originally the walls were painted in stone colors. When the interior was repainted for the Golden Jubilee of the church, however, the barrel vaults and side walls of the nave, transepts, and apse were redone in bright coral. The spandrels of the nave arcade and false triforium remain grey. A fresco band with stylized quatrefoils set in geometric borders, having the same colors, ornaments the transverse arches of the barrel vault and the intrados of the apse and nave arcades. Composite, Romanesque-style capitals in the nave and sanctuary are covered in gold leaf.

St. Thomas the Apostle's interior has an aisle on either side and barrel-vaulted nave and transepts. The intersecting vaulting of the nave and transepts form a large groin vault over the crossing. The tripartite nave elevation consists of an arcade supported on massive Composite columns, a false triforium with a blind "arcade" of eight colonettes in each bay, and a clerestory with round head windows, each penetrating the lower edge of the barrel vault just above the triforium from which the vault springs. Ribs extending across the barrel vault and terminating in aedicule niches at the triforium level separate the six bays of the nave. In each of the transept facades the upper wall is largely filled by a huge, five-light, stained glass window set above a semi-circular chapel. The apse is bounded by an ambulatory created by an arcade of seven semi-circular arches. Small barrel vaults form the covering for the ambulatory and for the narrow side aisles flanking the nave.

The stained glass, designed by the Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee and crafted by Gustav Van Treeg of Munich, is remarkable for its iconography and its glowing colors. Deeply saturated blues, reds, violets, greens, and golds cast an ethereal aura over the interior even on the darkest days. The apse contains five single-light windows. The center one shows St. Thomas the Apostle holding an architect's T-square; St. Thomas is the patron of architects according to the Golden Legend by Jacob de Voragine. Flanking this central window are images of the four evangelists holding their appropriate symbols. Each of the transept and side-aisle windows have triple-tier, historiated medallions. The top tier exhibits scenes from the Old Testament; the middle tier from the New Testament; and the bottom tier Significant figures and moments in Church history accompanied by their dates. Both Old and New Testament scenes appear with suitable scriptural texts. These historiated medallions are linked by angels and foliate designs. All the windows have geometric, zig-zag, Art Deco borders. The clerestory windows, located over the aisles, contain sacramental symbols in circular medallions on a leaded, white, cathedral glass background, and they are finished with the same kind of border. The image and symbol of the church's patron saint, St. Thomas the Apostle, appear strategically placed in three places in the sanctuary and one in the transept. Two images are on line with the main altar and central axis of the church. One occurs in the single-light stained glass window which is located directly behind the tabernacle in the main altar. In this image St. Thomas stands holding an architect's rule, as the patron of architects. The other appears in the floor mosaic set in front of the altar, at the base of the steps leading to it. It depicts an open spiral cross with a bishop's miter at each terminal and the intertwined letters, S and T, at the center of the cross. The S and T refer to St. Thomas, and the miter to his apostolate in India. The wrought iron pulpit in the sanctuary is also covered with symbols dealing with the life, legends, and martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle. Finally, one of the central stained glass medallions in the south transept windows shows St. Thomas as he places his hand in the side of Christ in his post-resurrection meeting with Him.

Other significant works of art in the church include the main altar, side altars, and communion rail, which are made of Carrara marble and inlaid with gold, blue, and red mosaics, all executed by Victor A. Fucignas of the Fucignas Studios of Italy.

The church's rear gallery contains a superb pipe organ fabricated by Casavant Freres of St. Hyacinth, Quebec. The organ was purchased at a cost of $20,000. Two cases containing the pipes flank the great round window of the main facade.

The present St. Thomas the Apostle rectory stands adjacent to the church and, like the church, faces east on Townsend Avenue. The rectory is a large, two-story building with a dormer-attic providing a functional third story. Constructed of red brick, it is trimmed with grey limestone and glazed ceramic tile like that decorating the exterior of the church. Its aedicule-style entry porch is supported by Corinthian columns and capitals. A pair of rectangular windows on either side of the entrance gives the structure a horizontal appearance. A two-story wing extends from the rear-left side of this central structure. At the first story it has a triple, arcaded opening with French doors that open onto a stone balcony fronted with a carved balustrade. Over this, a triple set of rectangular windows is fronted by a balcony of wrought iron. This wing houses a large living room with a double, stone fireplace and a sun porch at the first level. At the rear of the main section of the building, a large room with an elegant bay window, extending its entire length, opens onto a closed garden. This is the dining room. Other rooms at this first level include a spacious hall that leads to the living room and dining room, a large and well appointed kitchen, and, beyond these, offices just off the entryway. A grand wooden staircase leads from the hall to the second floor. Suites for the pastor, his assistants, and maids are located on the second floor and attic levels. The overall lines of this house are predominantly horizontal, with a definite Spanish flavor to them.