St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church facts for kids

St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, around 1884
Location	2356 Vermont Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Built	1882
Architect	Scott, William & Co.; Wuestewald, Caspar
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
Demolished	November 1996
NRHP reference No.	89000487
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 09, 1989
Removed from NRHP	August 8, 2022

St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church was a historic church building in Detroit, Michigan. It was located at 2356 Vermont Avenue. The church was also known as St. Boniface-St. Vincent Roman Catholic Church.

This important building was recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1983. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. However, the church building was later taken down in 1996. Because it was demolished, it was removed from the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

History of St. Boniface Church

In the 1860s, many German Catholic families in Detroit started moving to the west side of the city. They settled especially along the Michigan Avenue area. To serve these families, Bishop Casper Borgess created the St. Boniface parish in 1867.

A rectory, which is a house for the priest, was built for the parish in 1873. This two-story building was made of red brick in the Italianate style. It cost about $6,000 to build.

Plans for a new stone church building were made by a well-known local architect, William M. Scott. The construction of the church was finished in 1883. The cost to build this impressive church was around $30,000.

The St. Boniface parish officially closed in 1989. Sadly, the church building was taken down seven years later, in 1996.

What the Church Looked Like

St. Boniface Church was a unique mix of architectural styles. It combined elements of Romanesque Revival and Ruskinian Gothic designs. The church was built in a cross shape, known as a cruciform. It featured red brick and wood painted cream.

The church had a tall roof over its main area, called the nave. Its entrance arches were made of stone with steep gables. There was a central section with round arches set back into the wall. The church also had a square bell tower with openings for sound, topped by an eight-sided metal roof. Strong, stone-decorated supports called buttresses helped hold up the side walls.

The rectory building was a two-story stone house. It was painted black and built in the Italianate style. It had a special roof design with dormer windows that stuck out. The roof also had decorative brackets under its edges. The rectory featured an open porch with a gabled roof. Its windows were both rectangular and round-arched.

Images for kids

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  St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church, around 1910

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  St. Boniface School, around 1910

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  The empty lot where St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church once stood

See also

In Spanish: Iglesia de San Bonifacio (Detroit) para niños