Encyclopedia Of Detroit

Metropolitan United Methodist Church began as a merger of Woodward Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church and Oakland Avenue Church. A church was built at Woodward Avenue and Melbourne Street in 1903 to house the new congregation. The building burned down in 1916 and the decision was made to rebuild. Sebastian S. Kresge, a member of the congregation, donated land at Woodward and Chandler for a new building. On June 4, 1922, the cornerstone was laid, and the name was changed to Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church. Services were held in the completed sanctuary on January 17, 1926.

A member of the congregation, William E.N. Hunter designed the church in the modern English Gothic style. The oak furnishings were carved by Alois P. Lange. The windows, executed by the Connick Studios, are of grisaille glass- decoration in tones of a single color. The second-floor murals were painted by George Boget and each represent an epoch in the history of Protestanism.

The Merton S. Rice Memorial Organ, a M. P. Moller Organ Company opus 10641, was donated by Stanley and Dorothy Kresge in 1970. They contributed an additional $10,000 for structural modifications to house the pipe chambers. It has been enlarged to 7,003 pipes and 121 ranks.

In 1968 the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church united to form the United Methodist Church. The church name was changed to Metropolitan United Methodist Church.

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