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Stories From the Sidewalk
Book Features History of Arsenal and Riverbend Neighborhoods
Stories From the Sidewalk, a hefty hardcover book at nearly 380 pages published by the Museum Guild of Dearborn, is on sale now at the Dearborn Historical Museum gift shop or available online at https://thedhm.org/books.
To say the least it is an oversized stocking stuffer for the holiday season that every fan of architecture and devotee of history will treasure.
Three years in the making, it is the work of a passionate group of history buffs and researchers. This coffee table book documents over 360 houses and buildings in Dearborn’s Arsenal and Riverbend neighborhoods. With the belief that every house and building has a story to tell, the editors organized the book by neighborhood and street address along with a full-color photograph and details on the history and architecture of each historic resource.
Subtitled, A Walk Through 137 Years That Shaped Dearborn (1833 – 1970) the book is designed as a walking tour of these two charming and historic west Dearborn neighborhoods. It surveys and preserves for future generations the story of Dearborn’s growth from a village on the Chicago Road (Michigan Avenue) to a bustling and thriving city as the area became the automotive capital of the world and the manufacturing epicenter of the Ford Motor Company.
Co-authors and editors Christopher Merlo and L. Glenn O’Kray undertook this project with a sense of urgency to document and preserve the stories of these historically significant houses and buildings before they are either razed or drastically renovated – a fate that has befallen several houses and buildings in the Arsenal and Riverbend neighborhoods.
All income from the sale of the book will go to the Museum Guild of Dearborn.
Historic Highlight
St. Alphonsus - St. Clement Catholic Church (formerly St. Alphonsus Church) - 1930
This Gothic Revival church has anchored both the corner of Schaefer Road and Gould Street, as well as its faith community since its dedication in 1930. The building is the third worship site since the founding of St. Alphonsus in 1852 by Dearborn’s early German settlers. Sermons were delivered in German at the church until World War I. Henry Ford’s grandfather is buried in the cemetery on the church grounds.
The church cost $300,000 to construct. A church history calls it “an architectural and artistic jewel reflective of the spiritual values of the founding families.” Arthur DesRosiers served as the architect. The church’s magnificent stained-glass windows were made by the Detroit Stained Glass Works. Paintings of Biblical scenes that are original to the church’s dedication are by local artist Alfred Wrobbel. The main altar is marble and onyx. The floor tiles are Pewabic. Fred Suther provided the cut stonework. The Sterling Brick Company manufactured the red tapestry face brick for the exterior.
The program from the church’s dedication states: “If the exterior of the building is the prose of the design, the interior is its poetry. Harmonious lines, graceful arches, delicate carvings, and mosaics create a picture of artistic grace.”
Research by Sharon Morton. Photo courtesy of church.
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