The history of the Church of St. Hyacinth is quite similar to that of other parishes founded by Polish emigrants, this time mostly Kashubian. With a massive influx of immigrants the community of St. Albertus’s grew and the establishment of a new parish became an urgent necessity. The bishop’s consent was obtained after two years of efforts, in May 1907, despite the protest expressed by Fr. Gzella from the parish of St. Stanislaus. The first Masses were held in Martin Tesmar’s house at the corner of McDougall and Theodore streets. After raising the necessary funds the first wooden building was constructed. It was built in December and the construction itself took 16 days. Almost at the same time the construction of the building housing the school and the church began. Although the design caused controversy, the building was completed, and has survived to this day. The Felician Sisters were invited to teach in the school and Sister Mary Celine became the principal. The previous wooden church was converted into their convent. The new church soon turned out insufficient, probably also in terms of fulfilling the ambitions of both the parish priest and the community, so it was decided that a new church be erected. The parish priest, in consultation with the Parish Council, entrusted the design to the local architect John Donaldson, representing the Donaldson and Meier Company. Donaldson’s partner died in 1917. Donaldson was a Scotsman; he came to Detroit with his immigrant parents when he was two years old. Here he graduated from the Polytechnic College and later went to Munich and Paris to continue his education. Upon his return he started his business activity in the USA.

The building differs from the ecclesiastical architecture of Detroit as it features Romanesque Revival elements within a Byzantine Revival structure, additionally enhanced by decoration referring to Byzantine art, e.g. made from mosaics. This style is relatively rare among the Polish Cathedrals. The building was erected on a plan close to a rectangle with an apse. What attracts attention outside is the façade, flanked by two towers, and inside – four huge domes.

The paintings were made in 1928 by Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee. From the beginning it was a very clear concept, intended to harmonize with the architecture. It is said that Fr. Baweja and Fr. Woźnicki visited various churches in Canada and the cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri in search of ideas and inspiration. The church was renovated and redecorated in 1957 and 1978, and works were conducted in the subsequent periods as well.

An interesting piece is the figure of the Immaculata from the altar of the Immaculate Conception. According to the information coming from the parish, it is supposed to have come from the main altar of the closed church of the Immaculate Conception and to be an author’s copy, created around 1930, of a sculpture by Paul Maximilien Landowski (1876-1961), who is the author of, among others, the famous monument of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays the slender figure of the Virgin Mary is unfavorably situated in the side altar and much of its subtle charm is lost.

Perhaps the most interesting are those elements of the church’s iconographic program which refer to the history of the Polish church in the USA, and in Detroit in particular. The main piece is a mural painted in 2001 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Detroit. Its author was Dennis Orlowski (born 1944), who is closely associated with the Polish community and the church of St. Hyacinth. He graduated from The Art Students League of New York and Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he was also a teacher at Denby High School. He also graduated from Wayne State University. He studied wall painting in Mexico. This technically quite correct but artistically painfully banal painting is an interesting record of the consciousness of part of the Polish American community; therefore, it is worth taking a closer look. It is placed on the wall separating the body of the building from the porch. In the center of the composition, above the entrance there is a representation of John Paul II, in the background there is an image of Our Lady of Czestochowa and the Cultural Center of Pope John Paul II in Washington. On the sides there are large flags – Polish, with the Polish eagle overlapped by the American eagle, and American, with the Detroit emblem adopted for the 300th anniversary.

To the left of the entrance there are pictures of six Polish churches erected in Poletown, the “Polish district” of Detroit. There are also portraits of Fr. Sylwester Kolkiewicz, the first parish priest of St. Hyacinth’s, and the parish priest while painting the mural – Fr. Frank Skalski. On the right there are scenes of the Christmas Eve supper and the Easter food blessing. Above them is a representation of the first building of the Polish seminary in Detroit, located at Garfield and St. Aubin streets, and its later location in Orchard Lake. Between them, in the center, is a portrait of Fr. Józef Dąbrowski (1842-1903), the founder of the seminary. On the sides there are also images of Poles who were important for the church in the USA – Bishop Stefan Woźnicki (1894-1968), who was also the parish priest of St. Hyacinth’s, and the Polish-American Archbishop, Cardinal Adam Maida (born 1930). Below the scenes of Christmas and Easter traditions is the image of the original house of the Felician Sisters in the USA and their current headquarters in Livonia. In the center is the picture of the foundress of the Congregation, Blessed Angela Truszkowska (1825-1898). On the sides there are pictures of Stanley Mazur, the first Polish-American deacon in the Archdiocese of Detroit, and Clara Swieczkowska (1892-1986), known as Pani Klara. Born in Detroit, she was one of the most eminent Polish Americans, deeply involved in the life of the community. She was, among others, a campaigner for joining the Polish Army during World War I, as well as the foundress and president of the Polish Activities League in the USA. She was also the editor of the PolishAmerican magazine “Polska Kobieta” (Polish Woman). After the war she was the first woman elected vice president of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the second largest Polish organization in the USA.

Chronology

1907 establishing the parish and constructing the first wooden church

1908 completing the first brick church and school building

1911 extension of the school and construction of a temporary convent

1922 starting the construction of the current church and presbytery

1924 completing the current church

1928 completing the interior decoration works

1931 opening the St. Hyacinth Secondary School of Commerce

1943 closing the high school

1957 renovation and redecoration to the interior

1978 renovation to the interior

1988 listing the church on the Michigan State Historic Site Register

1990 closing the elementary school

2001 Heritage Award from the City of Detroit

Text originally published in a book issued by the POLONIKA Institute.
Anna Sylwia Czyż, Bartłomiej Gutowski, Paweł Sieradzki, Polish Parishes and Churches in Milwaukke, Winsconsin and Massachusetts, Warszawa 2021, pp. 141-155.