St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

The Reverend Camillus P. Maes organized St. John in 1872 to serve the area’s Irish population, which had struggled to form an English speaking parish over a forty year period. In January 1892 fire destroyed the interior of the first church, erected on this site in 1874. The exterior walls survived the fire and were used to rebuild the church, which was rededicated in October 1892. Detroit architects Donaldson and Meier led the reconstruction effort. The resulting church replicated the original one, but without a steeple. After nearly a century, St. John returned to its original appearance when the steeple was reconstructed in 1991 as part of a year long, $1 million restoration project.