Clare Congregational Church

Saginaw architect William T. Cooper designed this church in a Greek-cross plan. The church, built in 1909, is one of only a few in Michigan that reflect how early twentieth-century Protestants adopted the architecture of fifth- and sixth-century Early Christian central plan churches. The semicircular, auditorium-like sanctuary is embellished with patterns from European-designed stencils. The church’s stained glass windows decorated the original 1874 church.