File:Central United Methodist Church as seen from Grand Circus Park, Detroit - 20201215.jpg

English: Central United Methodist Church, 23 East Adams Street, Detroit, Michigan, as seen from Grand Circus Park in December 2020. Built in 1866 from a design by locally based architect Gordon W. Lloyd in conjunction with the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, the building is the fourth to have served as home to the church, and is a fine example of the particular flavor of Gothic Revivalism that was prevalent in ecclesiastic architecture at the time: much more stylistically disciplined than the Victorian Gothicism of the late 19th century and much more ornate than the English-derived designs popular in the early 20th, here the eyes are drawn to the corner tower, which boasts a tall, slender spire, a belfry of elegant pointed trefoil arches, lancet windows just above the entrances at its base, and corner buttresses. Impressive as well are the trefoil and quatrefoil designs on the tracery of the main window, visible here to the left of the tower. The church's original design was significantly modified in 1936, when the widening of the adjacent Woodward Avenue necessitated a shortening of the nave by 30 feet, which coincided with a complete remodel of the interior of the sanctuary, adding a new pulpit, lectern, and an elegant reredos of Applachian white oak and mural depicting the Twelve Apostles. Central Methodist is a congregation with a long and distinguished history: it was founded in 1810 as the first organized Protestant congregation in Michigan, and quickly made a name for itself as an outspoken champion of progressivism and social justice. It was because of the church's vehement reaction to a planned execution in nearby Grand Circus Park that Michigan became the first jurisdiction in the English-speaking world to abolish the death penalty, and much later in history, Central counted pastors who courted controversy due to their outspoken commitment to the Civil Rights Movement and pacifist stance during the Second World War (Rev. Dr. Henry Hitt Crane, who was called before Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee for his troubles), opposition to the war in Vietnam (Rev. Dr. James H. Laird, who was hanged in effigy), and for being the home church of Michigan's first LGBT Methodist minister (Rev. DaVita McCallister, who was forced to leave her post after marrying a woman, per United Methodist Church policy).