First Congregational Church
214 N. Adams
1845 & 1898, Neo—Gothic style

The rock face, square cut stone work of the walls dates from the church’s expansion in 1898, the visible brick work on the rear walls from the original structure. The architectural blend of the new with the old was a skillful accomplishment of the architect, W. Butterfield of Detroit. The forms and materials of the Neo—Gothic style, a revival style popularized by the Boston architectural firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, have their antecedents in the rural churches of late medieval England. The original seating arrangement for 425 was based on the Akron plan, with radial aisles and pew arranged in concentric arcs, an arrangement which was later changed to recapture some of the space wasted by that plan. Three large, Tiffany type Gothic windows were installed when the church was enlarged and are among the finest in the community. Particular assets, gained at the completion of the enlargement, were fine acoustics and substantial artificial lighting, the latter provided by the architect to accommodate wintertime evening services. Stone for the construction was quarried in Manchester, Michigan, and on farms along Geddes Road, north of the city. The stone bell tower, with its open belfry, dominates the overall form of the building and corner at Emmet and Adams and is distinctive in its details, voids and steeply piched hip roof.