Piety Hill in Detroit in Wayne County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, May 11, 2021

1. North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church Marker

Inscription. North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church was built in stages between 1907 and 1929 in the Neo-Gothic style. When the city’s population shifted as a result of the Great Depression of the 1930s and the influx of factory workers during World War II, much of the congregation’s membership left the city. In 1953 it sold this building to St. John’s Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Organized on July 8, 1917, as St. John’s Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first church of its denomination in Detroit and had several homes before becoming the first African American congregation to worship in Woodward Avenue’s “Piety Hill.”

Erected 1999 by Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of State. (Marker Number L2044.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 42° 22.778′ N, 83° 4.791′ W. Marker is in Detroit, Michigan, in Wayne County. It is in Piety Hill. It is at the intersection of Woodward

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Avenue and Blaine Street, on the left when traveling north on Woodward Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 8715 Woodward Ave, Detroit MI 48202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Michigan.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Central Woodward Christian Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Algiers Motel (approx. ¼ mile away); Henry Ford House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fisher Building (approx. ¾ mile away); Duane Doty School (approx. 0.8 miles away); Detroit July 1967 (approx. one mile away); Ford Piquette Plant (approx. 1.1 miles away); Studebaker in Detroit (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Detroit.

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, May 11, 2021

2. North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church Marker

North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, May 11, 2021

3. North Woodward Avenue Congregational Church

View of church from Woodward Avenue

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 11, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 451 times since then and 60 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 11, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.