Holy Cross Church

Nothing much to see here, just an entire city block boarded up.

Holy Cross Church opened on September 21, 1924. It was located at 1611 W. Oakland Ave. in Lansing. It occupied the entire block between Saginaw and Oakland, and between Jenison and Comfort. For those familiar with the area, they know that this is very close to the previously posted about Lansing Craft Center and Lansing Metal Center.


Holy Cross was more than just a church. The campus also included a school which taught grades K-8, and a rectory. All of this is now boarded up.


It's worth noting that this church served many different communities. There was a substantial Vietnamese community present, as well as White and Latino. Of all of the Catholic churches in Lansing, it probably had the biggest gaps in household income.


A woman came by during Christmas and decorated her former church with wreaths, because she was sad to see it boarded up and looking like nobody cared for it anymore. No news yet on who will take the wreaths down.


I attended church there many times over the years, and I can say from experience that the attendance was far lower than that of most churches. It was not a big church, and it certainly wasn't flashy. It was probably a throwback to what a Catholic church and service were like in the 50s and 60s.

I also played against their basketball team in junior high. Their gym was more of a basketball museum than a gym. Dr. Naismith probably could have stepped into it and felt right at home. It did have it's charms though....

More pics below.