The Ramblings of a Broderick Dweller

Orange House Update

2005-12-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

I finally found out why the orange houses I blogged about a few months ago are orange. According to this bit in The Detroiter, it is a project designed to draw attention to severely decayed houses. I'd have to say that it's working quite well!

Campus Martius Night

2005-12-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Campus Martius (Note the new lighting on the Guardian Building)

Comerica Tower

The Guardian Building

One Woodward Avenue

Detroit Athletic Club

Skyline from Hart Plaza
Skyline from Hart Plaza">

Will it Ever End?

2005-12-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well, the blog has obviously fallen by the wayside as school takes over life again.

Total time awake with no sleep: 3 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes

Not too bad when you consider the amount of work I have done and the fact that it all needs to be done 7 days from now.

Music Hall

Vacation

2005-11-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

Broderick Dweller is going on vacation. Daily photo tours will return Monday, November 28th.

Penobscot Building

2005-11-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Penobscot Building, at 47 stories and 565 feet tall, was the city's tallest building from the time it was completed in 1928 until the Renaissance Center's completion in 1977.

Let's take in the view from atop this majestic skyscraper.

The stadia now reside on the north end of downtown.

The Ambassador Bridge lies to the west.

The Buhl Building, another 1920s skyscraper.

The Guardian Building is the Crown Jewel of Detroit's skyline.

The Three Davids

North View

Park Avenue

2005-11-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Park Avenue is a forgotten area of downtown. It was once a thriving upper scale area of downtown. However, in the post-war era the district declined. By the 1970s there was almost nothing left. The building owners banded together to plan a revitalization. The city decided to put its money on the Renaissance Center instead, and Park Avenue was allowed to die. Today Park Avenue is in the midst of a resurgence, as new entertainment venues such as Centaur and the Town Pump have opened up. Additionally, two more bars will open in the Cliff Bells Building by Super Bowl.

The Park Avenue Building

Looking South Down Park Avenue

Centaur & The Town Pump
Centaur & The Town Pump">

So Long, Lancaster

2005-11-21T02:25:00.000-08:00

The Lancaster Apartments on E. Palmer at John R were the latest casualty in the city's quest to erase 300 years of history in preparation for the Super Bowl. They are being replaced by at Art Center Townhomes, which are far from artsy. They are actually nothing more than overpriced, vinyl-sided boxes that belong in the suburbs.

Spanish Gothic

2005-11-20T15:38:00.000-08:00

At Elmhurst and Lawton there are two very interesting abandoned apartment buildings. Both are in a similar style, with the orange brick, red clay tile roofs, and insets of colored tile on the exterior. These hulks nolonger have any windows, so they are wide open to the elements. They are living on borrowed time.

At 2749 Elmhurst we have this beauty. I would call this a Spanish-Gothic style.

Surrounding the front door is a unique combination of brick & stone.

The facade details, again with the pointed arches.

A nice little Juliet balcony. This must've been a swanky place in its day.

The Lawton Street facade

Across the street we have 2903 Elmhurst, a similar apartment building. It is much larger than the apartment at 2749 Elmhurst.

A little tower

Tile insets and arched windows

Tree Lighting

2005-11-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Campus Martius just in time for the tree lighting ceremony. The tree is a record height for the city's Christmas tree. This year's is 55 feet tall.

It was hard taking photos with all the people. It was encouraging to see so many people enjoying themselves downtown though.

A mother and her daughter watch the skaters.

Skating in Campus Martius Park

The Penobscot Building, decked out with its Christmas tree spire, looms over the park & the city Christmas tree.

Signs Around the D

2005-11-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

Everybody has Issues. Do You?

Farewell to an awesome coffee shop downtown

Cornelius Shea Horse Shoeing

Stay out of my Place!

Webster Cigars

Will the Super Bowl change the city? Not according to this person.

Vernor’s

Danger, Delrey

Kercheval Shop Dry Goods, Furnishings

El Moore

2005-11-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

The El Moore on Alexandrine in midtown is one of the few examples of brownstone architecture that exists in the city. It is gothic-styled, with pointed-arched windows and a large turret on one corner. The building is currently vacant, and is scheduled for loft conversion.

Book Tower Views

2005-11-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

Built in 1926, the Book Tower offers some of the most spectacular views of the city. On a clear day it is possible to see well over 50 miles.

The building for which this blog was named, Broderick Tower

Older, Newer, Newest

Guardian & Penobscot; Both designed by Wirt Rowland

Capitol Park & the Griswold Building

Looking out Towards Belle Isle

The Book-Cadillac Hotel, another Louis Kamper design. It is abandoned, and will supposedly be renovated.

The North View: Midtown & Beyond

Sherwood Forest

2005-11-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

One of the most interesting neighborhoods in Detroit is Sherwood Forest. It was modeled after an English village, so most of the homes are Tudor or have English influences. The neighborhood has gently winding streets, and was constructed during the 1920s and 1930s.

A beautiful tiled entry

Downtown Lighting

2005-11-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Now that the Super Bowl is drawing nearer, exterior lighting schemes are popping up on more and more buildings downtown in an attempt at highlighting their architecture. The city has installed spotlights aimed at certain buildings. That’s great, except that some of the buildings are abandoned. I just hope the city can keep the lights on. I’ve only seen the lights on in Grand Circus Park three times this year, and two of those times were during the All Star Game week!

Here’s a look at some lighting schemes on buildings.

The abandoned Wurlitzer Building on Broadway looks great with its new scheme, despite not having had tenants since the 1980s.

The Schwankovsky Temple of Music on Woodward Avenue also has spotlights aimed at it now. The building was designed by Gordon W. Lloyd and was one of the first buildings in the city to have an electric elevator. It was built for the F. J. Schwankovsky Company, which sold musical instruments. However, most Detroiters know it as the home of Wright Kay Jewelers, which occupied the building from 1920 until 1978.

Built in 1914 and designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn for the S.S. Kresge Company, the Kales Building is now home to loft apartments.

The Union Trust Bank’s cathedral of commerce was completed in 1929. A subtle light washes up its brick walls. The building was once the tallest freestanding brick building in the world.

Not to be confused with the Guardian, the David Stott Building in Capitol Park now has its exterior lights on regularly. The building once suffered from poor management and low occupancy. In 1994 its electricity was shut off and the tenants had to raise enough money to get it turned back on. Since then the building has been renovated floor by floor.

Finally, the buildings that make up the Lofts of Merchants Row have exterior lighting. Looking Good!

Orange Houses

2005-11-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

Near the Lodge/Davison interchange in Highland Park lies this strange little grouping of orange houses. The houses on these few blocks are all in an advanced stage of decay. Nobody lives here, and the streets are blocked off with concrete barricades.

2005-10-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

I hope whoever reads this thing has an rss reader. It's not that I'm not motivated to blog, but that I just plain don't have time. Last night was the first night I did not work on architecture projects in the studio. Taking 20 credits is insane!

Off to class....

2005-10-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

Blurred Visions....

It's time for midterms again, which means that I've been going since Saturday without sleep in an attempt to get things done. I swear, I've been awake for so long that I'm not sure quite what time it is, and everything looks all blurry.

2005-10-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Delray, a neighborhood in Southwest Detroit near the city's border with River Rouge, has many interesting old churches.

St. Joannis

Holy Cross

St. John Cantius

2005-10-03T22:31:00.000-07:00

Belle Isle is one of my favorite places to spend my Friday mornings. It is so relaxing after a long, stressful, four day week. Now that it's fall, the air is clearer and crisper, making for much better skyline shots.

2005-09-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here today, gone tomorrow....

That's a pretty good motto to go by in Detroit. I take thousands upon thousands of photos, because you never know if or when a building is coming down. Take the Studebaker Plant, for instance. It stood at the corner of John R & Piquette for more than 80 years.

One day it was there....

The next day it was a pile of rubble after suffering a massive five alarm fire....

And within a matter of weeks, the site had been scraped clean, leaving no trace of the plant....

2005-09-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few blocks north of downtown, in the Cass Corridor, lies this great old building, which has unfortunately been ravaged by fire. It is one of the few buildings from the 19th century that is left downtown. They've managed to save some burned out buildings east of Woodward. Only time will tell whether someone will come along and save this beauty, or whether it too will succumb to the wrecking ball.

2005-09-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

I've managed to let nearly a week pass between posts. Life is busy, leaving little time for blogging.

The whole front of the Statler Hotel is gone now, leaving the Washington Boulevard wing the last part of the building standing. Amazingly they have yet to damage the People Mover. I'm surprised, though if the system went down it wouldn't be too big of a loss. After all, it doesn't really go anywhere.

Of course the Statler's demolition means that the United Artists Theater is clearly visable now. Taggers have painted nearly every single window. I think it looks cool, but the city hates it. Not to worry...the street prophets say that the building is coming down later this year. The city of Detroit got an $8 million handout from the state of Michigan specifically for demolishing buildings for the Super Bowl.

Four giant buildings used to stand on the south side of Grand Circus Park. We're down to two now. The Tuller Hotel, where the gravel lot in the foreground stands, was pulled down by the city in 1992. The Statler Hotel is next, followed by the Whitney Building. The Broderick Tower rises 34 stories above the ground (far left).

There is a great deal of positive energy in the city though. A new 10 story office building, One Kennedy Square, is rising on the site of old city hall, a spot that had sat vacant for 40 years. Across from the Compuware Headquarters, the National Theater (below) is receiving a make over. The National was Albert Kahn's only theater, and is the sole remaining theater in the city's original theater district. In the 1920s the theater district moved from its spot near Campus Martius up to Grand Circus Park. The National Theater is in poor condition, but it's good to see that the owners are fixing it up as opposed to plowing it over.

2005-09-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

Michigan Central Station is the grandfather of all urban ruins. It is a truly spectacular building, even in its current state. It looks like a building that you might have seen in Berlin after the end of World War II, but no, this is Detroit in 2005. The station looms over the surrounding neighborhood, a hulking structure that nobody knows what to do with. It's too expensive to rehabilitate, and demolition is too costly to be an effective option. It will cost upwards of $200 million - and possibly as much as $400 million - to restore it, and only someone like Donald Trump would have that kind of cash to throw around. Until someone comes along with a viable plan, we're resigned to dreaming about a renovated Michigan Central Station.

2005-09-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Statler Hotel is dying a slow death, but it is nearing the end.

2005-09-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have long had an obsession with Park Avenue in downtown Detroit. There's just something about that little stretch between Adams and the Fisher Freeway. I'm not sure quite what it is. It's gritty, and has so much potential. From the newly restored Iodent Building, to the longtime landmark, the Park Avenue, to the vacant Charlevoix Hotel - they are all charming buildings in various states of repair.

One of my longtime favorite buildings is the Park Avenue Building. It was built in 1923 for Absopure, which was then a subsidy of the General Necessities Company. Famed architect Albert Kahn designed the building, which was last occupied in the early 1990s.

One of the best features of the building is the relief sculptures that adorn the Adams Street and Park Avenue facades.

Unfortunately the building is owned by a guy who has a grudge against the city of Detroit, and refuses to redevelop the building as a sort of payback. Way to promote the decay of the city's architectural treasures!