Greater Shiloh Baptist Church

Founded in 1881 by the Reverend John Wills, this is Detroit’s second-oldest African-American Baptist congregation. Carlos N. Stokes, an African-American draftsman, designed the church in 1920. Although his plans were modified two years later by the Detroit architectural firm W. W. Ahlschlager, Incorporated, the basic composition and form designed by Stokes were implemented. During the summer of 1926 the Reverend Robert B. James led a march from the Eastern Market to the new church in celebration of the first service in the new sanctuary. In 1935 when the church was slated for demolition to make way for the Brewster project, the Reverend Solomon Ross (1886-1968) fought successfully to save it. During the depression, Shiloh fed the hungry and sponsored adult education classes.