St. Cyril and Methodius Church (Detroit, Michigan)

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Constructed in 1925 and demolished in 2004, the long abandoned church was once considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Detroit.

Founded at the urging of the local Slovak community, the St Cyril and Methodius Parish constructed a simple unadorned brick church at Heintz and Foster Streets in 1918. It was named to honor two missionaries credited to bringing Christianity to Slovakia. By 1925 it was decided to construct a larger church and school and land was acquired at Centerline (now St Cyril) Avenue and Marcus Avenue.

The building designed by Kohner and Seeler included a church in the middle and a wrap around school on the north, west and south sides. Constructed in stages a 300 student elementary school was opened in 1926 while the church was completed in 1929. A high school was added in 1951. By 1942, the Parish contained over 1,200 families.

Continued emigration from Slovakia, particularly after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, added to the parish population. However, by the 1970s many of the original immigrants had died out and their children had moved to the suburbs. In 1971 both the elementary and high schools closed. Eleven years later in 1982 the parish purchased land at 18 Mile Road and Ryan Road in Sterling Heights. A new church was built at the Sterling Heights location and the last mass was conducted at the old church in 1988.

Sold in 1990 to a Baptist congregation, the building had been abandoned and vandalized before it was demolished in 2003 to make way for an industrial park.

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