St. Patrick Parish began in 1862 in response to the influx of Irish Catholics into Detroit. The parish built a chapel on Adelaide near John R. Street, which was eventually expanded into a church. St. Patrick's became one of Detroit's largest and wealthiest parishes, although the church was never one of Detroit's largest or most impressive. In 1890, the church was named the cathedral of the diocese and was renamed in honor of
Sts. Peter and Paul as the prior
cathedral church on East Jefferson had been. Bishop
Caspar Borgess gave the old Sts. Peter and Paul to the
Jesuits in 1877 after he moved to the new cathedral. In 1892, to serve the children of the community, the
Sts. Peter and Paul Academy was built on Parsons west of Woodward, which was some distance away from the main church. By the 1920s the streets in the area had become so busy that the trek from church to school was considered unsafe for children going to school Masses. As a remedy, the parish constructed the Chapel of St. Theresa, the Little Flower in 1926, In 1938, the cathedral function was transferred to Blessed Sacrament parish and St. Patrick's reverted to its original name. As the years passed, the area around the original St. Patrick church steadily declined, and more activities were held in the chapel and school. All activities were moved to Parsons Street in the 1980s and the old church was given to a community group. Essentially abandoned for a number of years, it was then vandalized and eventually burned in 1992. The archdiocese said it would retain the structure in the hope that the parish could be reactivated at a future date due to revitalization of the area, however this did not happen. Demolition of the Chapel on Parsons Street began on September 22, 2023. ==Architecture==