On Friday, crews started demolition of St. Patrick's Church, also known as the Chapel of St. Therese the Little Flower of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. It sits at 46 Parsons, behind Orchestra Hall in Midtown.
The demolition at about noon on Friday.Robin Runyan
The property is owned by the Archdiocese of Detroit, and Crain's reports that it's currently under contract; one of the conditions of the sale is that it needed to be demolished. A representative for the archdiosese said that many developers had looked at the property since it was put up for sale, but a renovation "would have been cost prohibitive."
The Chapel of St. Therese the Little Flower of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was designed by Donaldson & Meier and opened in 1926. According to Historic Detroit, St. Patrick Catholic Church was built in Brush Park in 1862 as a cathedral for the Catholic population, but due to the increasing population in the 1920s, another church was built on Parsons for the Parish. The original cathedral was lost in a fire in 1993.
The last church service was held there in 2015 because of declining membership. According to Crain's, the building was deconsecrated last year and sacred items had been removed. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The site is next to a large building that was built as a Catholic school, but since the 1970s has served as an active senior center.
The listing has the building for sale for $1,750,000; it's not known yet who bought it or how much it sold for.
