The St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church Local Historic District contains the single church at 4231 Saint Aubin St. You can read details in the St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church Historic District Final Report (local copy), which I recommend highly to anyone interested in Detroit's history.

Detroit's early Polish immigration, which began in the 1850's, consisted mostly of persons who came from Prussian-dominated sectors of partitioned Poland. Because at least some of them understood German, and because they were accustomed to German influence in their lives, they tended to locate in or near the German communities of Detroit, and at first attended German ethnic churches, notably St. Joseph's at Jay and Orleans. This was not, however, a satisfactory arrangement, and in 1871 the Polish community took steps to establish their own parish. On July 14, 1871, a frame church was dedicated by Bishop Caspar Borgess to St. Wojciech. This Polish saint's name has no English equivalent, and the name St. Albertus, long established in English usage for the parish, is not the "official" name of the parish.

Located on St. Aubin south of Canfield, the frame church was a simple and unpretentious building of the sort still found today in rural communities. The existance of the parish led to the formation of a Polish neighborhood around it, which was likely further encouraged, since the area was adjacent to the German areas around Gratiot. Even today, some Polish familes remain in the neighborhood, and several other churches testify to the extent of the Polish community that was created. The area is, however, very much changed.