Throughout Detroit you find massive religious complexes. Many of them are the large Catholic parishes that include an impressive church, a large rectory, a convent that could house seven dozen nuns, a elementary school and sometimes, as in the case of Holy Redeemer at Junction and West Vernor Highway, a high school. The architect, Ivan Dise, did a marvelous job of integrating three distinct buildings in Boulevard Temple. At the center facing 12th Street or Rosa Parks Boulevardis a large Gothic church. To the southeastat the corner of West Grandis a nine-story apartment building. On the other side of the church, Dise designed a four-story school building using a style that is very complementary to the Gothic church. Note the attractive use of pointed arches.
In 1962, the large apartment complex was converted into units for retirees. The membership of the church itself suburbanized and, in 1973, the church was decommissioned. In 1975, the former church as rebuilt and incorporated into the retirement complex without sacrificing any of the original beauty of this complex.
Architect: J. Ivan Dise
Style: The church is Gothic but Art Deco influences are apparent in the apartment
building.
Date of completion: 1926
Architect for the renovations of the 1970s: Nathan Levine
Use in 2003: Retirement home
Michigan Registry of Historic Places: P25031, Listed March 16, 1982.
Return to Apartments, Condos and Housing Developments