Status: Building no longer exists, demolished in 1891. Hudson’s Department Store’s first building replaced it on the site.

Very little information survives regarding the early years of the William Wright Company, which makes an article printed in 1879 particularly intriguing. On July 22, The [Detroit] Free Press announced that Wright’s company began redecorating the interior of the First Presbyterian Church the previous day. This commission came 19 years after Wright worked a previous job on the same building. He suffered a bad fall during the 1860 project, sustaining numerous injuries that were feared fatal. Some out-of-town newspapers even published preemptive obituaries, “but happily he lived to read them himself.”

It is interesting to speculate if, or when, Wright stopped climbing scaffolding to do the manual work of painting and decorating. Was he a hands-on manager, who relished any chance to hold a brush and climb a ladder? Or, as he aged and the company expanded, did he prefer to watch and guide from the ground, or from the company headquarters? Research has yet to answer these questions, but as any historian knows, it is always possible that more information might surface anytime.

Sources: The Detroit Free Press. July 22, 1879.

St. John’s Episcopal Church (Detroit - 1873)

Photo Courtesy of Detroit Public Library Burton Historical Collection

The original organizers of St. John’s Episcopal parish included businessman Henry P. Baldwin, who served as Governor of Michigan 1867-1870. Baldwin gave land and a significant funds for the church’s construction.

Status: Building still in use as a church.

In 1873 The Detroit Free Press reported that the William Wright Co. and architect Gordon W. Lloyd would be working together to offer comprehensive architectural and interior design services at a new establishment on Griswold Street. “Church decoration will . . . constitute a special feature of their work,” the article informed readers. At present artisans from the firm were hard at work on the interior of St. John’s Church, which, “when finished, will illustrate still another branch of their art.”

Sources: “Decorative Art.” The Detroit Free Press, August 3, 1873

Status: Building demolished in the 1960s.

Members of Port Huron’s Congregational Church decided to refresh and partially remodel their church sanctuary in 1885. Across several months their organ was moved, the flooring slightly raised, heating and ventilation improved, and multiple stained glass memorial windows installed. As part of the project, the church hired the Wright Co. to refresco the room’s ceiling and walls.

“The general style of the room was taken into careful consideration, and then decorations conventional in design and in coloring delicate, yet clear, were decided upon,” The Times Herald reported. “. . . we unhesitatingly pronounce the blue in the ceiling ‘a triumph,’ and the whole effect of the coloring to be harmonious and pleasing.”

Sources: “Congregational Church.” The Times Herald. January 2, 1886.

Photos Courtesy of Howell Carnegie District Library, Howell Area Archives

Status: Building demolished in the 1950s.

At the same time the Wright Co. was working at the Michigan State Capitol, the firm was hired to fresco the interior of Howell’s Baptist Church. Their design for the front of the church featured a central arch that framed an eagle and an open Bible with the words “The Guidance of Thy Word Giveth Light” on banners. Most of the sanctuary was decorated with plaster-relief scrolls, rosettes, and other elements reminiscent pieces of the Capitol’s decorative art.

Sources: The Livingston Herald. September 9, 1887.

Photos Courtesy of Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection

Status: Building still exists, used as Ecumenical Theological Seminary since 1992.

Construction of the new First Presbyterian Church commenced in the summer of 1889. William Wright & Co. executed the interior painting, which was rich in detail and color. Historical photographs show stacked bands of rosettes, quatrefoils, interlocking scrolls, and Celtic-inspired knots. Additionally, the four walls of the central block featured religious symbols traditionally associated with Christianity (such as a Chi Rho, IHS, and six-pointed star) and roundels honoring the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Sources: “New Buildings: Gossip Gleaned from the Offices of the Architects.” The Detroit Free Press. June 23, 1889.

Photo Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection

Photo Courtesy of Grand Rapids History Center, Grand Rapids Public Library  

Status: Building still in use as a church.

More than fifty years after its erection in 1849, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church underwent a redecoration which filled its walls with vast color and symbolism. Upon its formal reopening in 1902, the Grand Rapids Press reported on the Gobelin blue nave and transept, which had “an especially ecclesiastical quality.” Symbolically, the chancel was decorated with alternating figures of the cross and pomegranate color schemes. Also detailed was the “rich metallic effect [on the walls], produced by the overlaying of gold leaf on a foundation of aluminum leaf.” The decoration at St. Mark’s was designed by Joseph Ullenbruch of the William Wright Company.

Sources: “Rich in Symbolism: New Decorations of St. Mark’s Church Are Artistic.” Grand Rapids Press. September 13, 1902.

Photography by David Marvin

Status: Building still in use as a church and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sometimes the Wright Co. won the right to both furnish and decorate interiors. The firm provided the carpets, furnishings, and decorations for the Wyandotte Congregational Church in 1903. Designed in the English Gothic style, the interior featured oak hammerbeam trusses, wainscotting, and pews. The Detroit Free Press reported that “The color scheme is a low, soft tone of dark Tuscan red and Gobelin green, relieved with rich Gothic decorations in dull metallic and sepia effects. The coloring of the stained glass windows is also carried out in Gothic design of rich dark shading of green. Heavy velvet carpets of dark Tuscan red cover the floors, and the same color in heavy English rep is carried out in the cushions for the pews.”

Sources: “J. H Bishop’s Costly Gift: Wyandotte Church to be Dedicated Today.” The Detroit Free Press.  June 21, 1903.

Photo Courtesy of Grand Rapids History Center, Grand Rapids Public Library

Status: Building no longer exists, burned in 1917. The present structure was built in 1924.  

Thirty-one years after its original construction, the congregation at Grand Rapids’ Fountain Street Baptist Church hired the Wright Co. to redecorate their building. The firm introduced a decorative color scheme of olive, buff, and light green paired with polished and dull golds. The pulpit received a new green carpet, furniture was reupholstered in green, maroon drapes were added to the choir loft, and the heavy ceiling beams woodgrained. This new decorative scheme was carried out in the English Gothic style, which paired nicely with the original gothic ceiling beams and paneling.

Sources: “In Church Circles: Fountain Street Church Reopening.” The Grand Rapids Press. September 3, 1904.

Photos Courtesy of Milford Presbyterian Church

Status: Building still in use as a church.

Six years after the construction of their building, the Ladies Aid Society of the Milford Presbyterian Church raised approximately $450 to hire the William Wright Co. of Detroit to fresco their building. The local Milford Times reported that “The subdued, harmonious tints of the background serves to enhance the richness and beauty of the borders and figures, and altogether it gives promise of being a piece of artistic work of which the contractor and the church may be proud.” The project ended up taking longer than anticipated, forcing the church to cancel services for almost two months.

Sources: The Milford Times. August 5, 1905 – September 16, 1905.

Status: Building still in use, attached to east side of church.

Traditionally many churches have provided their clergy with a place to live. In 1908, the congregation at Detroit’s Fort Street Presbyterian Church hired the William Wright Company to redecorate their parish house while the pastor, Dr. Pence, was traveling. According to a newspaper report, they anticipated using mostly Detroit products.

Sources: The Detroit Times. May 23, 1908.