Holy Relic: Inside Detroit's Abandoned Presbyterian Church

TUCKED away in the middle of Detroit lies one of the city’s many hidden gems

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Abandoned since 2005, the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church was once a cornerstone of the local community.

Constructed in 1911, the century old building was built by Detroit’s presbyterians who wanted a place to meet and worship.

The abandoned church is now an all too familiar sight in a city that has been struggling financially in recent years.

The old church was built in 1911 by the local presbyterian community

Photographer Ioanna Sakellaraki, 26, took the images of the historical building on her recent visit to the city.

Ioanna said: “I went on a tour around Detroit visiting historical places that are now in decay after the Motor City went into decline.”

Since its closure in 2005 due to declining worshipper numbers, the gothic styled building has been left to slowly rot away - a feature that attracted the attentions of producers of a Hollywood movie.

In its heyday the church had more than 2000 members and was the cornerstone of the community

Ioanna explained: “Over the summer of 2011, the church was used as a set for the movie, Alex Cross and in preparation for shooting, much of the debris was cleared out of the building.”

During its height, the church had more than 2,000 members and was the pride and joy for the local presbyterian community.

An influx of African Americans in the mid 20th century to Detroit saw a decline in numbers at the church

By the middle of the 20th century the local demographic in the city began to change with more black families moving from the more baptist practising southern states.

An influx of new black families caused many white upper class families to move to different parts of the city, as a result the once popular church began to lose congregation numbers as well as its importance in the community.

Many presbyterians moved away from the area as more black families moved to Detroit

Despite its steadily decreasing numbers the church was still considered a historical landmark in the city and in 1982 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

However the historic and nostalgic value of the church sadly mattered little to people in the area with congregation numbers dwindling to the hundreds, a far cry from its heyday.

In 1982 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

With no investment opportunities, the church has been left virtually untouched and very little has been done by the local government to restore this once iconic building.

Due to a decline in congregation numbers the church was closed down in 2005

Ioanna said: "Since its abandonment the building has been in a state of limbo, shifting from one owner to another as plans to renovate have fallen through.”