Chapel of St. Theresa–the Little Flower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Chapel of St. Theresa–the Little Flower
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| Location | 58 Parsons Street Detroit, Michigan |
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| Built | 1926 |
| Architect | Donaldson and Meier |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian, Romanesque Revival |
| Demolished | 2023 |
| MPS | Cass Farm MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001099 |
| Added to NRHP | September 22, 1997 |
The Chapel of St. Theresa–the Little Flower was a church building located at 58 Parsons Street in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It was also known as St. Patrick Church later on. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Sadly, it was taken down in September 2023.
History of the Chapel
The story of St. Patrick Parish began in 1862. It was created because many Irish Catholic people were moving to Detroit. The parish first built a small chapel. This chapel was later made bigger and became a church. St. Patrick's grew to be one of the largest and wealthiest parishes in Detroit.
In 1890, the church became a "cathedral." A cathedral is the main church for a bishop's area, called a diocese. It was renamed Sts. Peter and Paul. This was because the previous cathedral, Saints Peter and Paul Church, had been given to a group called the Jesuits in 1877. To help the children in the community, a school called the Sts. Peter and Paul Academy was built in 1892. It was located on Parsons Street, a bit away from the main church.
By the 1920s, the streets in the area had become very busy. It was thought to be unsafe for children to walk from the school to the main church for school Masses. To fix this problem, the parish built the Chapel of St. Theresa, the Little Flower, in 1926. It was named after a saint called Thérèse de Lisieux.
In 1938, the main cathedral duties moved to another church. St. Patrick's then went back to its original name. As time passed, the area around the original St. Patrick church became less active. More and more church activities started happening at the chapel and the school on Parsons Street. By the 1980s, all activities had moved to the Parsons Street location. The old church building was later left empty for many years. Sadly, it was damaged and eventually caught fire in 1992.
Because fewer people were attending, the church leaders announced in 2015 that the parish would close. The church leaders hoped to keep the building. They thought the parish might be able to reopen in the future if the area improved. However, this did not happen.
The Chapel on Parsons Street began to be taken down on September 22, 2023.
Building Style
The chapel was built in the Romanesque Revival style. This style looks back to old Roman buildings. It had a special floor plan called a basilica. The building was made of red brick with light-colored limestone details. It also had a red tile roof.
The main entrance had two arches set back into the building. These arches were framed by square sections on each side. These square sections were topped with limestone porches. Each porch had a curved ceiling supported by four Corinthian columns. The sloped roofs of these porches had red tiles, matching the rest of the roof.
Above the entry doors, there were small arched windows. Above these windows, there was a small round window called a rose window. Above the porches, there were two small bell towers, each holding a bell.
See also
In Spanish: Capilla de Santa Teresa, la Pequeña Flor para niños
- Archdiocese of Detroit
