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House of worship, North End, since 1926

Metropolitan United Methodist Church

Photographed standing in 2008

Metropolitan United Methodist Church (8000 Woodward), 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1926
Style
English Gothic
Standing
100 years

Designed by William E.N. Hunter

Metropolitan United Methodist Church has stood on Woodward Ave. in North End since 1926, 100 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Metropolitan United Methodist Church

The landmark St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, on Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, 2008 Photo: Umdet, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing and open

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1926, during the boom years when the auto industry turned Detroit into one of the fastest growing cities in America, Metropolitan United Methodist Church opened in North End.

Credit the design to William E.N. Hunter, in the English Gothic style.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1982.

It still stands and still opens its doors.

Next time you are nearby, stop at 8000 Woodward Ave and look up.

The Metropolitan United Methodist Church is a church located at 8000 Woodward Avenue (at Chandler) in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was completed in 1926, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1986.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1926 Built Designed by William E.N. Hunter
  2. 1982 Listed on the National Register August 3, 1982
  3. 2026 Today 100 years and still standing

Where it is

8000 Woodward Ave.

On this map

  1. Metropolitan United Methodist Church This place
  2. Marwood Apartments 300 ft
  3. Seward Hotel 470 ft
  4. Moe C. Weil House 0.1 mi
  5. Hugh Wallace House 0.2 mi
  6. North Woodward Methodist Episcopal Church 0.2 mi
  7. Alfred J. Doughty House 0.2 mi
  8. William Shwanbeck House 0.2 mi
  9. John Kaiser House 0.2 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Second Baptist Church, by William E.N. Hunter Second Baptist Church, by William E.N. Hunter. Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

William E.N. Hunter

Architect, 1868 to 1947. Designed Second Baptist Church (1852) and 7 more in Metro Detroit

Also by William E.N. Hunter

More from Detroit in the 1920s

Around the block

It is in North End. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. Metropolitan United Methodist Church (8000 Woodward), 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. The landmark St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, on Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, 2008 Photo: Umdet, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.