House of worship, Detroit, since 1861

St. John's Episcopal Church

Still standing, photographed 2025

St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan (United States), 2025 Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Opened: 1861
Style: Gotchic Revival
Standing: 165 years

St. John's Episcopal Church has stood on Woodward Ave. in Detroit since 1861, 165 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of St. John's Episcopal Church

St. John's Episcopal Church, St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Mich — St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Mich, 1900 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

St. John's Episcopal Church, The landmark St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, on Lakeshore Drive in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan — 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 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated October 26, 2026

In 1861, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone, St. John's Episcopal Church opened.

Credit the design to Albert H. Jordan and Anderson & Jordan, working in Gotchic Revival.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1982.

It is still open, and still part of daily life in the city.

Go see it at 2326 Woodward Ave. Photos never get the scale right.

St. John's Episcopal Church is an antebellum-era church located at 2326 Woodward Avenue (at the corner of Woodward and the Fisher Freeway service drive) in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest church still standing on Woodward Avenue, an area once called Piety Hill for its large number of religious buildings.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

1861 Built Designed by Albert H. Jordan and Anderson & Jordan
1982 Listed on the National Register August 3, 1982
2026 Today 165 years and still standing

Where it is

2326 Woodward Ave.

On this map

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Fort Street Presbyterian Church, by Albert H. Jordan. Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Albert H. Jordan

Architect. Designed Fort Street Presbyterian Church (1855) and 4 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Albert H. Jordan

Russell House, by Anderson & Jordan. Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress

Architect

Anderson & Jordan

Architecture firm. Designed St. John's Episcopal Church (1861) and 2 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Anderson & Jordan

Marine Hospital 1857
Russell House 1857

Around the block

Photo credits

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

St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan (United States), 2025 Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
St. John's Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan (United States), 2025 Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Mich, 1900 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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
St Johns Episcopal Church, on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, 1934 Photo: S. Lucas, public domain, 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.

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