CELEBRATING 100 YEARS
Majestic . Approaching the seminary from the east along Chicago Boulevard , passing by the many mansions of the Boston-Edison historic district , or approaching from the south along wide and busy Linwood Avenue , the word “ majestic ” easily comes to mind . The first glimpse of the building from blocks away is , of course , the bell tower . The massive red brick tower with its stone corner spires rises high above the neighborhood rooftops in 130 feet of Gothic Revival glory . When the sun hits just right , the neighborhood is reflected back upon itself in the many windows of the four-sided tower .
The building itself , in its sheer majestic “ being-ness ”— its overwhelming presence within the neighborhood — suggests another word : “ monumental .”
Often the size and style of a structure serves as a symbol . Sacred Heart ’ s fourfloored building takes up an enormous 340,000 square feet of space , set upon 17 acres of former pastureland . Its original configuration included living space for 350 boarding students and classroom space for another 150 commuters .
The symbolism of founder Bishop Michael Gallagher ’ s monumental new seminary would have been unmistakable in 1924 . When the final brick was laid , it testified , like a monument , to the growing importance of the Detroit diocese in American Catholic life . The seminary ’ s Gothic style , popular nearly 1,000 years earlier , also witnessed to a mostly Protestant culture the ancient historical roots of the Catholic faith .
Let It Be
Cardinal Edmund Szoka , the eighth bishop of Detroit , had a hard decision to make in 1987 . He would transfer the archdiocese ’ s graduate school of theology from St . John ’ s Seminary in Plymouth to Sacred Heart College Seminary in Detroit . Sacred Heart would be refounded as a major seminary .
Certainly , there was a social reason for the change . He believed the archdiocese had a moral responsibility to the city and the neighborhood to keep Sacred Heart open . Razing the fortress-like structure surely would have been too expensive .
It is not hard to imagine there was a subtler , more philosophical reason . Does not a consecrated building of such tremendous beauty , of such physical and spiritual presence , simply deserve to be ?
Simply put , the building is a work of art . And it is a work of historical significance , if not status , for the city and the archdiocese . With the endorsement of Michigan ’ s Historic Preservation Review Board , the National Park Service found the building and campus worthy of being included in its National Register of Historic Places .
Aesthetics , architectural importance , practicality , social responsibility : these reasons no doubt helped to justify the archdiocese ’ s decision to invest in a comprehensive and costly rehabilitation and remodeling of the building between 1988 and 1993 ( including replacing 2,400 windows !)
Brick and Mortar
Sacred Heart ’ s building may be monumental , but it is not immutable . The building celebrates its 100th birthday this year , its official launch day being Sept . 22 , the first day of classes in 1924 . Like any structure that old , it has its history . Architectural writer Stewart Brand suggests that as a building matures with age and adapts to new needs , it takes on the characteristics of a living thing , to the point , even , of seeming to “ learn .”
At the very least , like a person , a building certainly evolves .
Such is the case with Sacred Heart ’ s building . There are its new early years ( 1920s-30s ), giving way to a vibrant youthfulness ( 1940s-50s ), a solid midcentury middle age ( 1960s ), a gradual structural decline ( 1970s-80s ), and then into an era of rehabilitation and renewal ( 1990s-2010s ). Today you could say the building projects a persona of handsome , stately maturity .
Purely Gothic
The architectural style of Sacred Heart ’ s building is sometimes mistakenly called “ English Tudor Gothic .” This mislabeling confuses two different traditions , Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival ( think dark wooden slats impressed into light-colored stucco walls ). Sacred Heart is purely Gothic Revival , meaning it emulates the look of a castle or cathedral from the Middle Ages ( think Paris ’ s Notre Dame Cathedral ).
More particularly , it is Collegiate Gothic , an adaptation of Gothic Revival adopted by many American educational buildings from roughly 1890 until 1940 .
Gazing up at Sacred Heart ’ s exterior , walking through its hallways , or visiting its main chapel , Gothic features appear everywhere . Sacred Heart ’ s central configuration is a quadrangle — four right angles forming a square — with an open courtyard in the center . This shape is typical of English universities founded in medieval times . Wings extend from each corner housing the gymnasium , auditorium , dorm space , and a former convent for the housekeeping sisters . At the center of the courtyard is the main chapel — the heart of the Heart , so to speak .
Additional Gothic cues are exterior windows set off from the red brick by buffcolored limestone surrounds . Windows , inside and outside , have pointed arches and intricate scrollwork , or tracery , cut into the limestone . Take a stroll through the corridors of the quadrangle . You ’ ll pass by arched entryways , granite bay windows , and barreled ceilings decorated with religious and nature symbols .
As for castle-like cues , notice how
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