Description

Detroit's architecture reflects Detroit's role in the early years of the twentieth century as the country's leading industrial center, the place where, with the rise of the automobile industry, the future was happening. The metropolitan Detroit area was also home to some of the largest private fortunes assembled in the modern age. All of this is visible in the cutting-edge structures built to serve the needs of the modern business community that was committed to innovation and new processes. Detroit's public buildings—its museums, libraries, schools, and monuments—are second to none in terms of their overall scale, materials, and detailing. Hotels, stores, theaters, and other commercial venues display a breezy cosmopolitanism consistent with the city's position as both a technology hub and a crossroads of immigration. Yet despite this remarkable legacy, many of downtown Detroit's architecturally significant buildings are under threat of demolition and have been placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2005 list of America's most endangered landmarks.

American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845–2005 is intended to showcase a Detroit that might surprise many readers and bring long-overdue attention to the city's heritage of fine design. In 90 stunning full-color photographs, the book documents the innovative features of fifty of Detroit's most impressive buildings. An introductory essay offers an overview of the city's architectural history and outlines the social forces and the personalities that helped shape the city's built environment. The heart of American City, however, is the photography, which brings Detroit's architecture to life in gorgeous detail. Accompanying text identifies each building and provides basic information such as date, location, and architect, pointing out features that make the building of particular interest and importance.

Authors

Robert Sharoff writes about architecture and real estate for the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Magazine.

William Zbaren's photographs have appeared in the New York Times and other national publications. His work has also been featured in several gallery exhibitions. As a designer, he has worked on numerous national advertising and corporate image campaigns.

Reviews

“Detroit’s builders gave the city a legacy of great architecture, but decades of neglect have put much of that legacy at risk. It is my hope that Zbaren’s breathtaking photos and Sharoff’s superb documentation will move people to protect the history of this remarkable city.”

—Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

“Detroit has a wealth of architecture treasures hidden in its everyday fabric. American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845–2005 brings them to light for our pleasure.”

—Cesar Pelli, architect and educator

“A major addition to the record of architectural history in the United States, American City is elegant and persuasive reminder that a city noted principally for its role in the development of the automobile has been the site of a multitude of first-class buildings as well.”

—Franz Schulze, Hollender Professor of Art, emeritus, Lake Forest College, author of Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography and Philip Johnson: Life and Work

“The product of monumental wealth and artistic accomplishment, Detroit’s architectural heritage is handsomely recorded in this book about an American city’s promise.”

—Hugh Hardy, FAIA, founder of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture

“American City is a visual tribute to the best of Detroit’s architectural gems. Sometimes it takes outsiders like Sharoff and Zbaren to see the glory where Detroiters themselves see only decline.”

—John Gallagher, architecture critic, Detroit Free Press, and co-author of AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture

Contents

Contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction

• American City
• Fort Wayne
• Lighthouse Supply Depot
• R. H. Traver Building
• Wright-Kay Building
• R. Hirt Jr. Co. Building
• Chauncey Hurlbut Memorial Gate
• Detroit Cornice and Slate Company
• Wayne County Building
• Savoyard Centre
• Belle Isle Conservatory
• Harmonie Centre
• Dime Building
• L. B. King and Company Building
• Michigan Central Railroad Station
• R. H. Fyfe’s Shoe Store Building
• Orchestra Hall
• Detroit Public Library, Main Branch
• Cadillac Place
• Women’s City Club
• Bankers Trust Company Building
• James Scott Fountain
• Buhl Building
• Detroit Institute of Arts
• Fox Theatre
• Penobscot Building
• Park Place Apartments
• Guardian Building
• David Stott Building
• Fisher Building
• Horace H. Rackham Building
• Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
• Turkel House
• McGregor Memorial Conference Center
• Lafayette Park
• One Woodward
• First Federal Bank Building
• Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
• Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls Building
• Kresge-Ford Building
• SBC Building
• Renaissance Center
• Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain
• Detroit Receiving Hospital
• Coleman A. Young Community Center
• Cobo Hall and Convention Center
• One Detroit Center
• John D. Dingell VA Hospital and Medical Center
• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
• Compuware Building
• Cass Technical High School

• Index of Buildings
• Index of Architects, Architecture Firms, Designers, and Artists
• Bibliography

Downloads

• Table of Contents
• Introduction [partial]
• Sample pages
• Index