DETROIT, MICHIGAN | Friday, March 12th, 2010 | 12:39 PM | 113 articles and counting...

From the category archives:

Downtown

David Broderick Building

April 14, 2009 Downtown

address:
10 Witherell
data:
Year built: 1928
Architect: Louis & Paul Kamper
Style: Classical with Beaux-Arts details
history:
When originally built, it was referred to as the Eaton Tower and was the 2nd tallest building in Michigan at the time. The classical style tower was once topped with Beaux-Arts details, most of which have now disappeared. The building features relative small floor [...]

Park Avenue House

April 14, 2009 Downtown

address:
2305 Park Avenue

data:
Year Built: 1924
Architect: Louis Kamper
Style: Italian Renaissance

history:
The Park Avenue House (formerly called the Royal Palms Hotel) is one of three hotels that Louis Kamper designed for what was once the heart of Detroit’s hotel district. Kamper also designed the Eddystone Hotel and the Park Avenue Hotel. The Park Avenue House [...]

Majestic Building

April 7, 2009 Downtown

address:
1011 Woodward

data:
Year Built: 1896
Year Demolished: 1962
Architect: Daniel Burnham
Style: Beaux Arts

history:
When completed in 1896, the Majestic Building was the tallest building in Detroit until 1909 when the Ford Building was completed. The building featured terra cotta inside and out. The Majestic was demolished in 1962 to make way for the First Federal Building, also known as [...]

David Whitney Building

April 7, 2009 Downtown

address:
1553 Woodward

data:
Year Built: 1915
Architect: Daniel Burnham
Style: Renaissance

history:
Originally, the building was adorned with Italian Renaissance details, much of which were removed when the building was renovated in 1959. It was originally built as an office tower for doctors and dentists, who after World War II began to locate near hospitals. The building was completed by Burnham’s [...]

Ford Building

April 7, 2009 Downtown

address:
615 Griswold

data:
Year Built: 1909
Architect: Daniel Burnham
Style: Neo-Classical & Neo-Renaissance

history:
When it was built in 1909, the Ford Building was the tallest skyscraper in Detroit until 1913. Unlike Burnham’s previous buildings, it was constructed with a steel frame instead of thick masonry. The exterior was clad in white terra cotta that was crisply detailed to emphasize it’s [...]

GM Renaissance Center

July 18, 2008 Downtown

address:
East Jefferson Avenue

data:
Year Built: 1976-1981
Architect: John Portman & Associates
history:
Conceived by Henry Ford II and financed primarily by the Ford Motor Company, the Renaissance Center became the world’s largest private development with an anticipated 1971 cost of $500 million. In part, civic leaders intended this ambitious urban renewal project to quell the white flight which followed [...]

Comerica Tower

July 18, 2008 Downtown

address:
500 Woodward Avenue

data:
Year Built: 1991 – 1993
Architect: John Burgee & Phillip Johnson
Style: Neo-Gothic

history:
Formerly known as the One Detroit Center, the Comerica Tower was the last great skyscraper built in Detroit. While some have branded it postmodern, it is more appropriately identified as historicist with gothic inspired detailing and extensive use of granite. Almost as if [...]

Detroit Athletic Club

July 18, 2008 Downtown

address:
241 Madison Avenue

data:
Year Built: 1915
Architect: Albert Kahn
Style: Renaissance

history:
Albert Kahn was influenced by Rome’s Palazzo Farnese and other Renaissance works he discovered during his 1912 tour of Italy when he designed this dignified structure for Detroit’s auto elite.

links:
Official Site

Articles:
Detroit News Archive

Dime Building

July 18, 2008 Downtown

address:
719 Griswold

data:
Year Built: 1910
Architect: Daniel Burnham
Style: Neo-Classical

history:
Originally known as the Dime Savings Bank Building, this building was one of three remaining buildings designed by one the most celebrated architects at the time.

links:
Official Site

Coleman A. Young Municpal Center

July 18, 2008 Downtown

address:
2 Woodward Avenue
data:
Year Built: 1951 – 1954
Architect: Harley, Ellington, & Day
Style: International Style
history:
Formerly known as the City County Building, it was renamed after the death of the former Detroit Mayor. As a composition, it is very similar to the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The center is comprised of an administration tower, the low [...]

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Downtown

David Broderick Building

Park Avenue House

Majestic Building

David Whitney Building

Ford Building

GM Renaissance Center

Comerica Tower

Detroit Athletic Club

Dime Building

Coleman A. Young Municpal Center

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