Historic Detroit

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Henry A. Walsh (1867 or 1868 - Jan. 3, 1940)

Henry Augustin Walsh specialized in church architecture, designing many around the country, including the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.

He was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1867 or 1868, and graduated from the Detroit Jesuit College (now the University of Detroit Mercy), where he was an organist and tenor in the choir. He then studied in Italy.

He fell ill while the Blessed Sacrament church was being built and retired as an architect in the late 1920s. Despite being bed-ridden, he submitted a rendering for the church with twin towers to complete his design. He died at age 72 on Jan. 3, 1940, in Cleveland, before they were completed. Walsh and is buried in Cleveland.