St. Anthony Church

During the early 1850s the growing number of Catholic families of German and Alsatian descent on Detroit’s east side necessitated the establishment of a new Catholic parish. The new congregation was originally founded as a mission church of St. Joseph parish. Named St. Anthony mission, it completed its first frame church at a cost of six thousand dollars on July 5, 1857. The church was located at the corner of Gratiot and Centerline Road, now Field Avenue. Father Leopold Pawlowski was appointed as its first pastor. By the turn of the century, the congregation needed a larger church. On July 18, 1901, Bishop John Samuel Foley laid the cornerstone for the present red brick and terra cotta Romanesque church. The handsome structure, designed by Donaldson and Meier, features frescoed ceilings and an impressive white stone Romanesque altar.