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Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

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File:Somersetcollection-3.JPG
Somerset Collection in the Metro Detroit suburb of Troy

The architecture of metropolitan Detroit, Michigan continues to garner the attention of architects and preservationists alike. Detroit maintains an active community of professionals committed to the city's architectural legacy and its future development recognizing the status of Detroit's architecture as a treasure trove of National Historic Landmarks.[1] In 2005, many of Detroit's skyscrapers and buildings were placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of America's most endangered landmarks.[2] The past and present come together in Detroit's waterfront skyline which shows a variety of architectural styles. The city's historic 1920's skyscrapers blend along side the post modern neogothic spires of the Comerica Tower and gleaming towers of the Renaissance Center to form the city's marque. Metro Detroit suburbs are among the most affluent in the nation, with contemporary estates and gilded age mansions.

History

Wayne County Building from Monroe Street.
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Fisher Building along with Cadillac Place are National Historic Landmarks in the City's New Center area.

Detroit was once called the Paris of the West for its architecture. Founded in 1701, Detroit is the second oldest parish in the United States. Consequently, the region's many churches are among Metro Detroit's architectural treasures. St. Anne's Church in Detroit is one of the most significant. Other architecturally significant churches include Old St. Mary's Church in Greektown and St. John's Episcopal Church, an American Civil War era church on Woodward Avenue across from the nation's first Fox Theater. The work of noted sculptor Corrado Parducci can be seen on many of Detroit's buildings and churches including the ornate facade of St. Aloysius Church. The Detroit Historical Society at the Detroit Historical Museum provides information on tours of the city's many historic churches.

After the fire of 1805, Fr. Gabriel Richard had said, "Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus," meaning "We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes" which became the city's offical motto. For Detroit, Judge Augustus B. Woodward's would devise a plan similar to Pierre Charles L'Enfant's design for Washington, DC. Detroit's baroque style momumental radial avenues and traffic circles fan out from Grand Circus Park in the heart of the city's theater district.[3] Compuware World Headquarters overlooks the reconstructed traffic cicle surrounding Campus Martius Park with the historic Soldiers' and Sailors' monument of the American Civil War.

John and Arthur Scott designed the Wayne County Building (1897) in downtown Detroit which was the most extravagant building in Michigan at the turn of the century. Apparently, expense was not a factor in construction of its lavish design. It may be America's finest example of Roman Baroque blended with a Beux-Arts architectural style. Albert Kahn, often called the "architect of Detroit," originally worked for architect John Scott. A building of architectual importance, the old Detroit City Hall (1861) was demolished in 1961.

Detroit area is home to light houses, yacht clubs, and unique monuments. Examples include the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and the Chauncey Hurlbut Memorial Gate at Waterworks Park[4]. Detroit is replete with such landmarks. Achitects such as Cass Gilbert who designed buildings in Washington, DC also designed the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Belle Isle's exquisite James Scott Fountain.[5] Frederick Olmstead, landscape architect of New York City's Central Park, designed Detroit's 982 acre Belle Isle park.

File:MeadowBrookHall.jpg
Meadow Brook Hall aerial photo

The mansions of metropolitan Detroit are among the nation's grandest estates. Meadow Brook Hall, the 80,000 ft² mansion of Matilda Dodge Wilson, at 480 South Adams Rd. in the suburb of Rochester Hills, is the 4th largest in the United States. The suburbs of Bloomfield Hills and Grosse Pointe are replete with mansions. Albert Kahn designed Cranbrook House in Bloomfield Hills and the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House at 1100 Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe. Rose Terrace, the mansion of Anna Dodge, once stood at 2 Lakeshore Dr. in Grosse Pointe. Designed by Horace Trumbauer as a Louis XV styled château, Rose Terrace was an enlarged version of the firm's Miramar in Newport, RI. A developer gave the highest bid for Rose Terrace and demolished in it in 1976 to create an upscale neighborhood which gave a renewed sense of urgency to preservationists. [6] The Dodge Collection from Rose Terrace may be viewed at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Russell A. Alger House, at 32 Lakeshore Dr., serves as the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.[7]

In 1923, Albert Kahn designed what is now Cadillac Place for General Motors which was the largest office building in the world when it opened after the Pentagon. In 1927, the seven Fisher brothers who owned Fisher Body essentially gave architect Albert Kahn an blank check to design and build the most "beautiful build the most beautiful building in the world."[8] This became Detroit's famous Fisher Building with its detailed work and opulent lobby which has been called the city's "largest art object."[9] The Fisher Building and Cadillac Place are among the many National Historic Landmarks in Detroit.

Guardian Building's lavish interior

Detroit's skyscrapers show less influence by the Chicago school of architecture and are more eastern in character. Detroit's architectural legacy is rich in Art Deco style. Examples of Art Deco in Detroit include Wirt C. Rowland's Guardian Building, the Albert Kahn's Fisher Building, and the David Stott Building. Comerica Tower with is neogothic spires is a fine example of post modern architecture by noted architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee.

Detroit's architectural heritage includes many other famous architects. Frank Lloyd Wright particpated in the initial design for Henry Ford's Fairlane Estate in Dearborn. Minoru Yamasaki had patterned his award winning design for the New York City's former World Trade Center towers after his design for Detroit's One Woodward Avenue. Eliel Saarinen was the architect for the Cranbrook Educational Community in the Metro Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. The work of architectural sculptor Corrado Parducci can be found on many Metro Detroit buildings such as the Meadowbrook Hall mansion, the Guardian Building, the Buhl Building, and the Penobscot Building.

Modern highlights

Renaissance Center from the Riverfront walk.
Southfield Town Center.

A city within a city

An indicator of economic strength, the office market in Metro Detroit is one of the nation's largest, with 147,082,003 ft² of space.[10] Two noteable examples of Metro Detroit's office architecture amidst the competitive office market are the Renaissance Center and the Southfield Town Center. Both complexes are an interconnected group of skyscrapers being termed a 'city within a city' or a 'pseudo city'.

The construction of the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit marked a new era for the city's architecture. Detroit's panoramic skyline would become architecturally renowned. And later, in the 2000's, the city's waterfront would undergo a massive redevelopment. In the 1970's, Detroit Renaissance, chaired by Henry Ford II, commissioned highly regarded architect John Portman to design an enormous skyscraper complex called the Renaissance Center in hopes of stemming the tide of white flight to the suburbs precipitated by court-ordered busing. John Portman had hoped to halt the exodus. Portman expanded on his earlier design for the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia for the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan beginning a new popular architectural era for the skyscraper hotel. (See Portman's Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angelos).

Stemming the exodus from the city proved difficult for architectural planners with a growing suburban office market and competition from the nearby Southfield Town Center. The Southfield Town Center became easy to recognize with its alluring marque of golden glass skyscapers. Among professionals it was seen as the place to be. The 'city of gold' had attracted tenents and would become competition for the Renaissance Center as Metro Detroit's office market continued its suburban sprawl.

Years early, in 1924, Detroit's Book-Cadillac Hotel had opened as the world's tallest. (A re-developed Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel is set to open in 2008). In 1977, completion of the Renaissance Center restored the city's mantle; the Renaissance Center's central tower opened with the world's tallest hotel skysraper, a flag ship 1298 room Westin hotel and conference center with the largest rooftop restaurant.

While asthetically beautiful and secure, critics of John Portman's design for the Renaissance Center flawed its lack of waterfront access and its difficulty for patrons to navigate. Its concrete berms facing Jefferson Avenue were also unpopular with critics. In 1996, General Motors purchased the complex for its new headquarters. Suggestions to correct criticisms of the original design were incorporated into a $500 million makeover of the complex, including a $100 renovation of the hotel. A new front door Winter Garden provided waterfront access with spectacular views and expanded retail space while construction of a lighted glass walkway (known as the "green ring") provided for ease of navigation circling the interior mezzanine. The concrete berms were removed and replaced by a pedestrian friendly glass entry way facing Jefferson Avenue.

In 1987, Westin had moved its flagship Detroit hotel to the Southfield Town Center. The Southfield Town Center grew to 2.2 million ft² of space, adding a 5th tower in 1989. Directly across from the complex is Lawrence Technological University.

Today, the entire Renaissance Center complex is owned by General Motors. The central tower of the Renaissance Center is occupied by Marriott International's largest hotel. Since 1986, the central tower of the Renaissance Center has remained the tallest hotel skyscaper in the Western Hemisphere. With a renovated Renaissance Center totaling 5.5 million ft². The city, together with the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, untook another $500 million project along the Detroit International Riverfront to construct a 3 mile riverfront promenade park along the east river from Hart Plaza to the Belle Isle bridge. Detroit Wayne County Port Authority added a state of the art cruise ship dock to Hart Plaza 2005. A 2 mile extension along the west river will take the riverfront promenade park from Hart Plaza to the Ambassador Bridge for a total of 5 miles of parkway from bridge to bridge. The city's waterfront has gained international notoriety. The state of Michigan constructed the first ever urban state park, the Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor. Downtown Detroit has new stadiums and newly configured roads and freeways.


Metro area

A third leg in the Metro Detroit area is Dearborn, headquarters to the Ford Motor Company. Dearborn's 14 story Hyatt Regency (1976) with its arched curved design is among the region's finest; it is one of the largest in the Hyatt chain with 772 rooms. Other Metro Detroit suburbs with major office buildings include Troy with its Top of Troy and Somerset Collection. Auburn Hills is the location of DaimlerChrysler's American headquarters. Ann Arbor's architectural highlights include the University of Michigan Law School with its stained glass windows and Ivy League appearance. Detroit's historic skyscapers such as the Penobscot Building have state of the art technology in the heart of the city's wireless internet zone.

Future development

In downtown Detroit, there are $1.3 billion in new construction projects.[11] Speculative development for Detroit includes a new headquarters in Detroit for Quicken Loans in order to consolidate its suburban offices. Planning for a major residential and retail development adjacent to the Renaissance Center in the works. Many residential lofts and high rises are under construction in the Metro Detroit area.

Noteable buildings

Comerica Tower in Detroit

Partial list:

Casinos

See also

1920's tudor in Palmer Woods in Detroit

Notes

  1. ^ Cityscape Detroit
  2. ^ Publisher review of American City: Detroit Architecture
  3. ^ Vivian M. BaulchWoodward Avenue, Detroit's Grand old "Main Street" Rearview Mirror, The Detroit News
  4. ^ Chauncey Hurlbut Memorial Gate Detroit 1701.org
  5. ^ James Scott Fountain Detroit 1701.org
  6. ^ Patricia Zacharias. Mrs. Dodge and the Regal Rose Terrace Rearview Mirror, The Detroit News
  7. ^ Grosse Pointe War Memorial, the Russell A. Alger Mansion
  8. ^ Kay Houston and Linda Culpepper (2007).The beautiful building in the world Rearview Mirror, The Detroit News
  9. ^ Rebecca Mazzei (11-30-2005).Still Standing Metro Times
  10. ^ Collier's International Market Report - Detroit, Third Quarter, 2006
  11. ^ The world is coming, see the change Ciy of Detroit Partnership

References

  • Eckhert, Katheryn Bishop (1993). Buildings of Michigan (Society of Architectural Historians). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-5061-49-7.
  • Fisher, Dale (1996). Ann Arbor: Visions of the Eagle. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 096156234X.
  • Fisher, Dale (2003). Building Michigan: A Tribute to Michigan's Construction Industry. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1891143247.
  • Fisher, Dale (2005). Southeast Michigan: Horizons of Growth. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 1891143255.
  • Fisher, Dale (1994). Detroit: Visions of the Eagle. Grass Lake, MI: Eyry of the Eagle Publishing. ISBN 0-9615623-3-1.
  • Godzak, Roman (2004). Catholic Churches in Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3235-5.
  • Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
  • Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Portman, John and Jonathan Barnett (1976). The Architect as Developer. McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-0705-0536-5.
  • Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6.
  • Savage, Rebecca Binno and Greg Kowalski (2004). Art Deco in Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3228-2.
  • Tutag, Nola Huse with Lucy Hamilton (1988). Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1875-4.
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