Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
One Detroit Center by John Burgee and Philip C. Johnson
.

The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike.

One Detroit Center refer to designs of the city's historic Art Deco skyscrapers.[3] Together with the Renaissance Center
, they form the city's distinctive skyline.

Detroit's architecture is recognized as being among the finest in the U.S. Detroit has one of the largest surviving collections of late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings in the U.S.[3] Because of the city's economic difficulties, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed many of Detroit's skyscrapers and buildings as some of America's most endangered landmarks.[4]

The suburbs contain some significant contemporary architecture and several historic estates.[5][6]

Skyscrapers

Neoclassical Chrysler House (1912) by Daniel Burnham in the Detroit Financial District

In the 1880s,

Antebellum period. Most of Detroit's expansion and development took place later.[9]

At 12 stories, the steel-framed United Way Community Services Building (1895), at 1212 Griswold, originally known as the Chamber of Commerce Building, qualifies as Detroit's oldest existing skyscraper.[6][10] The 10-story Hammond Building (1889), now demolished, is considered the city's first historic skyscraper.[11] The Qube in the Detroit Financial District was developed on the Hammond Building site.[12]

The city has numerous architecturally significant late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings and skyscrapers.

Neo-Gothic R.H. Fyfe Building (1919) at Woodward and Adams, now converted to a residential high-rise.[13]

Detroit has preserved numerous historic buildings that are listed on the

Reed & Stem
; it was bought by Ford in 2018 and is to be the center of a major multi-use development.

New Center area, both were designed by Albert Kahn
.
Wirt Rowland
.

During the

Book-Cadillac Hotel
(1924), which was the world's tallest hotel when it opened.

The city's architectural legacy is rich in Art Deco style, with buildings constructed during the boom years of the 1920s. Joseph L. Hudson, the department store magnate, had commissioned architect Hugh Ferriss to produce a series of renderings depicting new buildings for the city skyline.[15] Hudson's Department Store window displayed the Ferriss drawings to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary, and to celebrate the opening in 1927 of a new building for the Detroit Institute of Arts, a Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance-styled structure.[15] Other architects created designs inspired by the Hugh Ferriss concepts, which included the Guardian Building, the David Stott Building, the J.L Hudson Building, and others.[13][15]

Neo-Classical architecture. Kahn, sometimes called the "architect of Detroit", originally worked for John Scott, who designed the Wayne County Building (1897). It opened as the second-largest office building in the world.[6]

The seven Fisher brothers, who owned the automotive company Fisher Body, essentially gave architect Kahn a blank check to design and build the "most beautiful building in the world."[16] This was the Fisher Building (1927) which, with its detailed work, has been called the city's "largest art object." Its opulent three-story, barrel-vaulted lobby is constructed with forty different kinds of marble.[16][17][18] Albert Kahn Associates chief architect for the Fisher Building was Joseph Nathaniel French.[19] The Fisher Building and Cadillac Place are among the National Historic Landmarks in Detroit anchoring the city's historic New Center.

Architect

ceramist Mary Chase Perry Stratton are a prominent feature in the Guardian Building's facade and decor.[14]

Tallest buildings

Wirt Rowland including the Penobscot, Buhl, and Guardian
.
Rank Building Height Stories Built Notes
1 Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center 727 feet (222 m) 73 1977 [20]
2
One Detroit Center
619 feet (189 m) 43 1993 [21]
3 Penobscot Building 565 feet (172 m) 47 1928 [22]
T-4 Renaissance Center Tower 100 522 feet (159 m) 39 1977 [23]
T-4 Renaissance Center Tower 200 522 feet (159 m) 39 1977 [24]
T-4 Renaissance Center Tower 300 522 feet (159 m) 39 1977 [25]
T-4 Renaissance Center Tower 400 522 feet (159 m) 39 1977 [26]
8 Guardian Building 496 feet (151 m) 40 1929 [27]
9 Book Tower 475 feet (145 m) 38 1926 [28]
10 150 West Jefferson 455 feet (139 m) 26 1989 [29]

Contemporary highlights

The Detroit area also contains prominent skycrapers designed in the

Wirt Rowland's historic Penobscot Building (1928), both located in the heart of the Financial District's wireless Internet zone.[3]

The office market in Metro Detroit is one of the nation's largest. with 147.88 million square feet (13,739,000 m2).[31] The Renaissance Center, with 5.552 million square feet (515,800 m2), and the Southfield Town Center, with 2.2 million square feet (204,400 m2), are large-scale examples of Contemporary Modern skyscraper complexes. Each mixed-use complex is an interconnected group of skyscrapers termed a "city within a city."

John Portman on the International Riverfront, GM Wintergarden by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
.

The construction of the

John Portman to design an enormous skyscraper complex called the Renaissance Center
in hopes of increasing the attraction of city living for middle and upper-class residents. Some left because of court-ordered busing to integrate schools that were de facto segregated based on residential patterns. Portman had hoped to halt the exodus.

Portman expanded on his earlier design for the

). In the ensuing decades, the Renaissance Center expanded to join the city's restored historic art deco skyscrapers in forming the current skyline.

In 1924, Detroit's

Westin hotel and conference center at the Southfield Town Center is across from Lawrence Technological University
.

Stemming the flight of capital from the city proved difficult, however, as the suburban office market continued to grow, notably in Southfield and Troy. The Southfield Town Center, constructed from 1975 to 1989, became easy to recognize with its marque of five golden glass skyscrapers. It attracted tenants in competition with the Renaissance Center as Metro Detroit's office market continued its suburban expansion.

Portman designed the Renaissance Center with interior spaces, yet secure. It quickly became a symbol of the city of Detroit. In 1996, the

mezzanine
. A pedestrian-friendly glass entry way has replaced the former concrete berms along Jefferson Avenue.

The city, together with the Riverfront Conservancy, undertook another major project planned at $559-million along the Detroit International Riverfront to construct a three-mile (5 km) riverfront promenade park along the east river from

Motor City Casino (2007), and the 30-story Hollywood Casino (2009). A fourth contemporary high-rise casino resort hotel, Caesars Windsor
(1998/2008), is visible from the International Riverfront.

.

Besides the

Top of Troy (1975) building, a 27-story triangular tower. Troy also contains what is generally considered to be the most upscale shopping center in the region, the Somerset Collection
.

The suburb of Auburn Hills is home to the 15-story

(1988) by Rosetti is a sports arena that has served as a prototype for many others of its kind.

Future development

MGM Grand Detroit completed in 2007.

Between 1996 and 2006, downtown Detroit attracted more than $15 billion in new investment from private and public sectors.

SEMCOG Commuter Rail with access to DDOT and SMART buses.[39]

In January 2008, the City of Detroit unveiled a concept for a new

Pavilions of Troy, a $380 million mixed-use complex, is concept planned for the suburban city of Troy.[42] Metro Detroit is second largest source of architectural and engineering job opportunities in the U.S.[43] The University of Michigan, the University of Detroit Mercy, and Lawrence Technological University
offer architectural degree programs.

Landmarks and monuments

Greektown
.

Founded in 1701, Detroit contains the second oldest

Spier and Rohns is the largest Roman Catholic Church in Detroit.[6][45]

The

tallest churches
in the United States.

The large concentration of

St. Josaphat's (1901) which has spires that line-up with the Renaissance Center towers when approaching the city on Interstate 75. The Historical Society at the Detroit Historical Museum provides information on tours of the area's many historic churches. The historic Beaubien House (c. 1851) at 553 East Jefferson houses the Michigan Society of Architects
.

Campus Martius

.

The city and its surrounding area have numerous monuments by noted architects and sculptors along tree-lined boulevards and parks just some of which are noted.

Grand Circus
is on Woodward Avenue, down the street.

Compuware World Headquarters overlooks the reconstructed traffic circle surrounding Campus Martius Park with the historic Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument of the American Civil War by Randolph Rogers.[47] The old Detroit City Hall (1861) was demolished in 1961. It was built by Alexander Chapoton of one of the city's oldest French families. The Queen Anne style Alexander Chapoton House (c. 1870) stands at 511 Beaubien.[5][6]

Grand Circus

.
Victorian Gothic, Central United Methodist Church (1866) overlooks Grand Circus.

In 1805, Detroit experienced a devastating fire, which destroyed most of the city's

city's theater district.[51]

Detroit's

Russell Alger Memorial Fountain contains a classic Roman figure symbolizing Michigan by renowned American sculptor Daniel French.[47]

Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Classical

Detroit Institute of Arts by Paul Philippe Cret, with 2007 renovation and expansion by Michael Graves.

In the late 19th century, Detroit was called the Paris of the West for its architecture and open public spaces,[44] in keeping with the City Beautiful movement.[54] Architects John and Arthur Scott designed the Wayne County Building (1897) in downtown Detroit. Expense was not a factor in construction of its lavish design. Topped with bronze quadrigas by J. Massey Rhind and an Anthony Wayne pediment by Edward Wagner, it may be America's finest surviving example of Roman Baroque architecture with a blend of Beaux-Arts.[5] Stanford White, architect of Newport, Rhode Island's Rosecliff mansion, designed Detroit's Neoclassical Savoyard Centre (1900) at 151 Fort St. Belle Isle Park provides panoramic views of city skyline along the Detroit International Riverfront.

Château de Chenonceaux
.

The French-American architect

Cultural Center Historic District
.

French Gothic styled St. Paul Catholic Church (1899) in Grosse Pointe is among Metro Detroit's many historic churches.

The Detroit area is home to light houses,

Meadowbrook Hall mansion, the Guardian Building, the Buhl Building (1925), the Penobscot Building, the Fisher Building and the David Stott Building
.

Metro Detroit's many architecturally significant landmarks extend beyond the city and include the French Gothic St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church (1899) by Harry J. Rill in Grosse Pointe Farms, Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian (1958) in Bloomfield Hills by Wirt C. Rowland, and Christ Church Cranbrook (1928) by Bertram Goodhue in Bloomfield Hills.[6]

GM Technical Center.[6] Sculptor Carl Milles' numerous works in Metro Detroit include those at Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan such as Mermaids & Tritons Fountain (1930), Sven Hedin on a Camel (1932), Jonah and the Whale Fountain (1932), Orpheus Fountain (1936), and the Spirit of Transportation (1952) at the Detroit Civic Center.[60]

Residential architecture

The Park Avenue Historic District contains various renovations. Originally designed by Albert Kahn, developers converted the Kales Building into a residential high-rise with retail in 2004.

Downtown and New Center areas contain high-rise buildings, while the majority of the surrounding city consists of low-rise structures and single-family homes. The city's neighborhoods constructed prior to World War II feature the architecture of the times with wood frame and brick houses, larger brick homes in middle-class neighborhoods, and ornate mansions throughout the city's many historic districts and nearby suburbs such as Grosse Pointe. The oldest city neighborhoods are along the Woodward and Jefferson corridors, while newer city neighborhoods are found in the west and northeast.

High-rise residential buildings are found in neighborhoods along the

Indian Village and East Jefferson Avenue
.

Some of the oldest extant working-class neighborhoods include those in the Southwest such

Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church
.

Detroit neighborhood historic districts contain notable residential architecture from the

Romanesque, and Queen Anne architecture. Noted architect Gordon W. Lloyd designed the David Whitney House (1894) constructed with a jasper stone exterior.[64] The Whitney House is now a fine restaurant at 4421 Woodward Avenue in Midtown. The East Canfield area nearby contains the Gothic revival styled Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church
.

Woodward Avenue
.

Detroit's heritage includes works by Frank Lloyd Wright who had participated in the initial design for Henry Ford's Fair Lane Estate,[67] a National Historic Landmark in Dearborn. Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the Dorothy H. Turkel House at 2760 West Seven Mile Rd.,[68] the Gregor S. and Elizabeth B. Affleck House at 1925 N. Woodward Ave., the Melvyn Maxwell and Sara Stein Smith House at 5045 Ponvalley Rd., and the Carlton D. Wall House at 12305 Beck Rd. in Plymouth Township.

Bishop Gallagher House (1925), in Palmer Woods Historic District[6][69]
Woodland by Hugh T. Keyes, longtime Bloomfield Hills estate of John Bugas

The mansions of metropolitan Detroit are among the nation's grandest estates.

Lake St. Clair, one of the finest examples being Woodley Green (the Benson Ford House, 1934) by Hugh T. Keyes (considered "one of the most prolific and versatile architects of the period").[13] Bloomfield Hills also contains vast estates from the early to mid 20th century, such as Albert Kahn-designed Cranbrook House on Saarinen's Cranbrook campus (called by The New York Times "one of the greatest campuses ever created anywhere in the world"[72]). Next door on Vaughan Rd. is Keyes-designed Woodland, the estate of John Bugas
.

There have also been some newer redeveloped upscale subdivisions in the Grosse Pointe, Bloomfield Hills, and Turtle Lake areas.[5][6][73]

Photo gallery

Skyscrapers
Landmarks
Monuments[47][48]
Architectural sculpture

Citations

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References and further reading

External links