St. Florian's parish consists of predominantly Polish members whose families were immigrants from Poland and settled in Hamtramck after Dodge opened an automobile factory in 1910.

By 1907, Ford, Dodge, and Packard plants were employing many Polish immigrants who settled in Hamtramck Township or in contiguous neighborhoods on what was then the northern edge of the city of Detroit.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit recognized the need for a church to serve Polish residents, and established the parish named for St. Florian, patron of Poland, in 1907.

He created a magnificent modified English Gothic structure that won an award from American Architect magazine in 1929.

The church's spire rises nearly 200 ft (61 m) above the street and was designed to stand in stark contrast to the smokestacks of Hamtramck's industrial environment.

[11] The award-winning opulence of St. Florian's is a reminder of the "humble structure" that preceded it; the prosperity and generosity of parishioners made possible construction of "one of the most attractive churches in the metropolis."

The front facade has a "broad Gothic Arch flanked by twin spires notable for the impression they give of lightness and delicateness."

One window includes the figure of Nicolaus Copernicus, the astronomer who challenged the Catholic Church's traditional view that the earth is the center of the universe.

[13] The altar windows depict five Polish saints — Casimir, Florian, Hedwig, Hyacinth and Stanislaus.

The nave windows illustrate the joyful and glorious mysteries of the rosary, and other vignettes from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Thomasz Sielicki noted that St. Florian had as many as seven priests and 3,000 students in the school during its heyday and that it kept many parishioners for their whole lives.

[15] In 1969, the cardinal archbishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła, who later became Pope John Paul II, celebrated Mass at St. Florian.

Detroit City councilman (and former Mayor) Kenneth Cockrel is a graduate of St. Florian High School, which is now closed.

Saint Florian Parish was founded in 1907 to serve the Detroit area's rapidly expanding Polish Catholic community.

The Reverend John Bonkowski hired Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram to design this building, inspired by the Gothic churches of the Middle Ages.

Incorporated as a village in 1901, Hamtramck experienced rapid growth when Eastern European immigrants came to work at nearby Dodge, Ford and Packard automotive plants.

In the shadow of the magnificent Saint Florian Church, modest houses occupy thirty-foot-wide lots.

Platted in 1909 as Whitney's subdivision, the densely developed neighborhood was built in anticipation of an influx of workers to the Dodge Main factory that opened less than one mile from here in 1910.