[1] St. Andrew's parish, founded in 1885,[2] was one of the earliest religious institutions established in what is now the University–Cultural Center section of Detroit.

In the early 1890s, plans for the present church were drawn up in by the Boston-based architectural firm of Cram, Wentworth & Goodhue.

[3] In 1906, the church burned due to an electrical fire; it was repaired six years later,[2] although the reconstruction did not restore the original design and has been criticized as architecturally disfiguring.

[4] It served the Episcopalian parish for a number of years until, after World War II, the surrounding population began an exodus to the suburbs.

[2] St. Andrew's displays the straight, vertical and horizontal lines characteristic of Ralph Adams Cram's work.