St. Adalbert’s traces its beginnings to the founding of the Saint Adalbert Aid Society, which was formed in 1872. The purpose of the society was to assist new Polish immigrants to Grand Rapids in finding housing and employment. They purchased two lots at the corner of Fourth Street and Davis Avenue, NW, in 1880, and in June of the following year began construction of a small wooden church. Ten years later the frame structure was enlarged. In 1892 they built a large meeting hall for the society, which is still in use.

Work began on the present church building in July 1907. The cornerstone was laid on August 18, 1907, and construction continued into the late spring of 1913. It was built by the Andrews Brothers Co. of Cleveland. The cost for the building and its furnishings came to about $150,000. St. Adalbert was raised to a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II on August 22, 1979. The dedication liturgy was celebrated in conjunction with the centennial of the parish on February 16, 1980.

The Romanesque Revival structure was designed by Cleveland architect Henry J. Harks. The exterior walls of the church are covered in Sandusky limestone and it is trimmed in Bedford limestone. The two towers that flank the façade are 134 feet high and the large central dome rises to 134 feet (41 m) above the ground. The dome reflects Byzantine influences while the facade’s large rose window shows gothic influences. The church’s stained glass windows were designed by A. Artmaier and were created by craftsmen from Munich, Germany. Edmund Verlinden designed the altars, pulpit, baptismal font and confessionals. The original communion rail was topped with Georgia marble. The pews were created by American Seating Company of Grand Rapids. I (Dave, the guy that is copying this from Wikipedia) can see the church from my apartment. I look out across the Grand River every day that I am not on the road for work and think about how lucky I am. 🙂

Peace.