History of St Albertus Parish School

St. Albertus Parish School is an abandoned parish school on the East Side of Detroit, located in the Poletown East neighborhood. The current building that stands today was built in 1916, however, the two school buildings that preceded it were constructed in 1873 and 1892. St. Albertus was a major part of the community around the Poletown East neighborhood, largely built by Polish settlers, as was most of Poletown East. The Polish decided to settle in an area of Detroit known then as the "Outskirts of Detroit." Throughout most of its major history, Poletown East was the Polish spot in Detroit. As Poletown East grew, the need for more accommodations emerged, resulting in a new school being built in 1916 and completed in 1917, which is the current school today. Enrollment peaked at St. Albertus in the 1920-21 school year at over 1,875 students, more than many Detroit Public Schools in their peak years, illustrating how strong of a community Poletown East truly was. However, as the nearby suburb of Hamtramck began to grow, many Polish residents started to move there, shrinking the numbers at the school to 899 by 1932. In 1945, the archdiocese proposed building a high school, as St. Albertus was only an elementary school, however, citing declining enrollment in the elementary school and the changing makeup of the neighborhood, pastor at the time, Father Ciesielski, talked the archdiocese out of it. He did not wish to burden the shrinking congregation, fearing that the high school would never be used to its full potential. During the 1950s, much of Poletown East was still very strong, with many businesses intact, however, the sharp decline of Poletown East was observed throughout. By 1953, only 383 students were in attendance at the school, resulting in 6 of the 24 classrooms being in use. By 1965, in its last year of operation, the student population had decreased to a mere 90 students from its peak of 1,875 students. In 1966, the school was closed after serving 75,000 students over the course of three schools and 93 years. The City of Detroit leased the school for use as a Job Training Center until the late 70s. By the late 70s, Poletown lost almost all of its Polish identity over the course of the decade, with families leaving the area in droves through 1980. St. Albertus Church closed on June 3, 1990, 118 years after its founding, with just a small handful of members. The church and school were purchased by the Polish American Historical Site Association, a group made up of parishioners and volunteers who wanted to preserve the historic buildings. They opened the church for 12 masses a year and would sweep the school and secure it as best they could, however, by the 2000s, the school was largely forgotten, though the church continues on. The current owner of the school is controversial Detroit landlord Dennis Kefallinos, a known purchaser of abandoned property in Detroit, including places such as Southwest Detroit Hospital and the M.M. Rose School. In early 2025, some work was done to the school, likely due to blight tickets issued by the City of Detroit. No plans are in the works for the former school, but it does remain in acceptable shape even in 2025, with the auditorium, featuring its ballroom like appearance, in very good condition, and most walls in acceptable shape. Surprisingly the building was spared from the major arson fires in the Poletown East neighborhood around 2012, which took with it many buildings including Max’s Jewelry Store, Chene Ferry Market, and Chene Liquor among many others with some numbers suggesting over 30 buildings.