Updates to the BuildingsOfDetroit.COM website. http://www.snweb.org en-us All Content Copyright BuildingsOfDetroit.COM, 2007-2008, ALL Rights Reserved. Detroit Architecture Urban Reference Information History Urban Exploration Michigan buildingsofdetroit@gmail.com (BuildingsOfDetroit.COM) buildingsofdetroit@gmail.com (BuildingsOfDetroit.COM) http://www.BuildingsOfDetroit.COM/images/button.gif http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/ 88 31 BREAKING NEWS: The Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously today to tear down the Lafayette Building. A demolition contract has already been awarded. The city says it will put a park, not a parking lot, on the site. Stay tuned to BuildingsofDetroit.com for more updates and, if it does come down, demolition photos. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#062509 NEW PHOTOS AND SAD NEWS: It's been a crazy week for Detroit's landmarks. First, the upper deck collapsed unexpectedly at Tiger Stadium on Monday, June 22. We've got photos here and added a couple of videos showing the devastation on our YouTube channel. Then, on the next day, the Detroit City Council voted almost unanimously to deny granting a local historic designation to the endangered Lafayette Building. While such a designation would aid the process to get tax credits that may help lure a developer, Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said, "You can’t save every historic building. You just can’t." Demolition appears almost certain. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#062409 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added a history and old and new photos of the Grinnell Brothers Music House on Woodward. Once home to the largest music department store in the country and one of Albert Kahn's finest commercial buildings. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#062409 NEW PHOTOS: New photos added of the continued demolition of Tiger Stadium. We also have video of the demolition on our YouTube channel. New historic photos added of the Statler Hotel and the Kales Building. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#061509 BREAKING NEWS: A judge has ruled the demolition of the remaining corner of Tiger Stadium can continue. About 11:30 a.m., roughly an hour after the ruling, demolition resumed at the historic ballpark preservationists had fought to save. We will have new photos of the demo throughout the process. You can check out photos from today and also head over to our YouTube channel to see the wrecking crew tear into Ernie Harwell's broadcast booth. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#060809 NEW PHOTOS added to the Bagley Memorial Fountain, and Cliff Bell's photo galleries. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#060609 URGENT: Demolition equipment has arrived at Tiger Stadium to raze the rest of the ballpark that preservationists have fought so hard to save. E-mail or call the Detroit City Council and Mayor Dave Bing to urge them to stop the demolition before it's too late! http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#060309 NEW IMAGES: We've added more than 100 photos of the Studebaker Plant before its disastrous fire in 2005. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#060109 NEW IMAGES: Lots of small updates today. New postcards of Michigan Central Station and the Kales Building. New photos of the Film Exchange Building and Shubert-Lafayette Theatre. New artifacts added of the Detroit Times Building and the Donovan Building. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#052209 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Ever been on the People Mover and wondered why Detroit has a Times Square? We've got the answer. Come look at historic photos and artifacts and read the most thorough and complete history available online of one of Detroit's long-forgotten newspapers as we look at Albert Kahn's fallen Art Deco masterpiece, the Detroit Times Building. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#052009 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added historic and contemporary photos and old postcards of the Kales Building, one of the gems of Grand Circus Park. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#051909 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added the old Detroit Museum of Art, the forerunner of the Detroit Institute of Arts. We have old photos, postcards, a history and more on this castle-like building that was once home to many of the city's artistic treasures. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#042309 New photos have been added to the Belle Isle Aquarium and Grande Ballroom. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#042209 NEW PHOTOS ADDED: Somehow we screwed up and didn't have our photo gallery of Michigan Central Station up. Oops. You can now peruse nearly 100 photos from both inside and out. No need to get dirty; tour Michigan's most infamous abandoned building from the friendly confines of your own home. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#040309 BREAKING NEWS!Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. has heard your pleas and today put a hold on the demolition of the Lafayette Building! Thank you for all of your help in this cause! Read more about it at Freep.com. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#040209 3 UPDATES AND 1 ON THE WAY: No foolin'! We revisit historic Tiger Stadium with new demolition photos. We also have added a more complete history and photos of favorite Detroit nightspot Cliff Bell's, both before and after the renovation. We also take you inside the derelict Hotel Charlevoix that sits across the street. And have you ever been on the People Mover and wondered why Detroit has a Times Square? Come back Monday to learn about one of Detroit's forgotten juggernauts and where that name comes from. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#040109 URGENT: On March 16, 2009, the Downtown Development Authority put out a request for proposals for "the complete demolition" of the Lafayette Building. The bids are due April 2, 2009. That means there is less than a week to save this historic structure. Preservation Wayne and others have fought to get the building historic designation in an effort to save it, urging the cash-strapped city to clean up and secure the Lafayette instead of spending millions to raze it. The only person who can stop the DDA and DEGC's plans to demolish the Lafayette are Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. Supporters are urged to e-mail letters urging the mayor to stop the demolition to: kenneth.cockrel@detroitmi.gov or to sign this online petition. We've also added more photos to the Lafayette Building page. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#032609 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added a history, old photos and present-day photos inside and out of the National Theatre. It's the sole survivor of Detroit's first avenue of entertainment, Albert Kahn's only theater and a National Historic Place. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#031909 Exterior photos and more demolition photos have been added to the Chin Tiki page. Demolitions continue in the area as the Art Deco building at Cass and Columbia has been reduced to rubble and the multi-story parking garage a few blocks away is now half gone. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#031409 BUILDING UPDATES: The Ilitch family razed the landmark Chin Tiki restaurant last week. We've added a few demo photos and some more detail to the history page. We also have added a much more expanded history on the Statler Hotel, one of Detroit's finest hotels for more than half a century until it was torn down in 2005. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#031009 We are working on several updates for you, but we've had our hands full in the efforts to save the Lafayette Building from demolition. We're working with Preservation Wayne to get the building designated as a National Historic Place. You can help by e-mailing Detroit City Council members and the Detroit Economic Development Corp. to let them know you support saving this landmark! http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#021709 NEW BUILDING ADDED: This week we take you inside the Belle Isle Aquarium. When it closed in 2005, it was the longest continuously running aquarium in the country and the ONLY aquarium in the state of Michigan. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#020809 NEW BUILDING ADDED: After nearly three weeks of research, we bring you what we believe is the most exhaustive and comprehensive look at Detroit's Old City Hall on the Web. Many who live in metro Detroit have never seen the majestic building that once dominated Campus Martius for nearly a century. We have more than 80 historic photos, old postcards and a history that we hope is as fascinating and tragic as it is long. Read about a battle to save this landmark that stretched on for nearly 50 years. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#011509 Some say the endangered Lafayette Building is too far gone to save. You be the judge by taking a look inside this historic, neglected Detroit landmark. We've also got dozens of interior photos of Detroit's temple of entertainment Fox Theatre. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#011009 As we work on a major addition for the site, we've added a minor update for you. Check out more exhaustive histories of the Hotel Ste. Claire and the Cadillac Square Building and new historic photos of the Leland Hotel. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#010508 Photographic prints are once again for sale at the store. Thank you for your feedback during the time that it was down. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#010208 The staff at BuildingsOfDetroit.COM would like to wish you a Happy New Year! On that note... ring in the New Year with the photo gallery now up for the Guardian Building! http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#123108 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added a history, old photos and a slew of current photos of the gorgeous Aztec-themed Vanity Ballroom on the city's east side. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#121408 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've added a history and some photos and postcards of the Leland Hotel. More photos should be up soon. Also added is a more detailed history of the Grande Ballroom, once the premier rock venue in the Midwest. Like so many of the buildings on this site, we have photos of it but have yet to upload them. These will hopefully arrive soon. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#120908 LOTS OF NEW PHOTOS: We've added tons of photos of the Donovan Building, the former Motown headquarters, before and during its demolition. Also added are demolition photos of the historic Statler Hotel, where Houdini and FDR stayed and Quicken wants to build its new headquarters. We've also added some new photos from inside the renovated Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#112508 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Take a look inside the Farwell Building, a gem loaded with Tiffany glass mosaic ceilings and - at one time - the most elaborate elevators in Detroit. It is one of Detroit's relatively unknown national and state registered historic landmarks. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#112108 NEW LOCATION ADDED: We've added a history, old & contemporary photos, postcards and more of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Campus Martius. It is one of Detroit's oldest surviving pieces of public art and one of the earliest Civil War memorials in the United States. Did you know Gens. George Custer and Ambrose Burnside were among those present for its unveiling? Coming Friday: A look at one of Detroit's relatively unknown national and state registered historic landmarks. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#111908 UBER UPDATE: We added old photos, artifacts, postcards and an exhaustive history (perhaps TOO exhaustive) on Detroit's most-endangered landmark of the moment, the Lafayette Building. Photos of how it looks currently, both inside and out, should be up real soon. We've also updated the histories of the Statler Hotel and the Hotel Ste. Claire with more detail, added lots of historic photos of the Michigan Central Railroad Depot, and we have sprinkled new postcards and historic photos for many buildings. Coming Wednesday: A look at a monument loaded with 900-pound soldiers and one fierce Indian queen. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#111808 NEW LOCATION ADDED: We've added the old Union Depot. We have old photos, postcards, a history and demolition photos of this beautiful, fallen 19th Century landmark that served millions of people. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#111108 A slew of historic photos added to the Michigan Central Station and Michigan Central Railroad Depot pages. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#110908 NEW LOCATION ADDED: Learn more about the Bagley Memorial Fountain, a landmark one historian calls "the 19th-Century equivalent of something by Frank Lloyd Wright." http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#102508 TWO NEW PLACES ADDED: It's two for Tuesday at BoD.com, where we're serving up two helpings of Cadillac today. First, we have what could have been Detroit's most unusual monument ever, the Cadillac Chair. And have you ever wondered what stood where the Book-Cadillac is today? Or where the Book-Cadilllac got its name? Check out the Cadillac Hotel. As I always say, if the place was good enough for William Howard Taft, it's worth reading about. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#102108 NEW BUILDING ADDED: We've finally got the Westin Book Cadillac hotel page up. Check out renovation photos, historic postcards, old photos and more on the Book-Caddy's page here. Sorry for the delay, but it was an exhaustive history to put together. We'll be adding more photos in coming weeks of the finished hotel, so be sure to check back. We've been working on several buildings at once, so updates should become more frequent. We're also looking at a more user-friendly redesign. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#101208 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Check out historic photos, a history, a video and postcards of the Majestic Building. It was Detroit's second skyscraper, built in 1896, and stood on the corner of Michigan and Woodward avenues on Campus Martius. Also check out a NEW VIDEO on the Book-Cadillac Hotel on our YouTube channel and get a sneak peak at the inside of the renovated hotel before it reopens. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#090308 Photo gallery now online for Michigan Theatre. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#082808 NEW BUILDINGS ADDED: Check out historic photos, a history and postcards of the Michigan Central Railroad Depot. It was the train station before the Michigan Central Station. Also check out the page for the Russell A. Alger Memorial Fountain, a monument done by the same men who did the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. New demolition photos of Tiger Stadium added showing the demolition of the rest of the outfield. We also have video of the last right field light tower coming down, which we will add to our YouTube channel shortly. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#082608 New headers are now live on the site! http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#082108 Our cameras were in the right place at the right time tonight. We were there when the demo crews brought down the center field wall. Video posted to our YouTube page. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#080808 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Check out historic photos, interior photos, a history and postcards of the Detroit Yacht Club. New demolition photos of Tiger Stadium added showing the demolition of the center field scoreboard and that the razing of the Tiger Plaza began today. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#080708 More old photos added to Cadillac Square Building, Gayety Theatre. Artifacts added to Cadillac Square Building, Cliff Bells, Grande Ballroom, Guardian Building, Statler Hotel. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#080408 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Check out historic photos, contemporary photos, a history and postcards of the old Detroit Free Press Building. New demolition photos of Tiger Stadium added documenting the demolition of the northwestern entrance. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#072708 Added new photos from inside the David Broderick Tower, the world's tallest abandoned building. Also added some more photos of the demolition of Tiger Stadium. The northwestern entrance was destroyed today. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#072608 From now on, rather than post every day about new demo photos of Tiger Stadium, it's safe to assume we'll have new ones almost daily. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#072308 The rest of the left field upper deck was demolished today. Added photos from this afternoon, including the final moments of the other left field light tower, to the Tiger Stadium page. A new video of the demolition from over the demo fence added to our YouTube page. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#072208 Half of Tiger Stadium's left field upper deck was destroyed Monday (July 21), collapsing onto itself. It was the first of Tiger Stadium's light towers to fall. Pictures of this development have been added to the demolition photos under Tiger Stadium. Also added photos from before demolition began. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#072108 More photos added to Tiger Stadium of the exterior and demolition. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071708 Couple of new photos of the demolition of Tiger Stadium added. New video of Tiger Stadium's demolition added to our YouTube page. Historic postcards of the Edison Memorial Fountain, Fox Theatre and Hotel Ste. Claire added. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071608 RSS feed now functional. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071508 NEW BUILDING ADDED: Check out the Guardian Building in the "Buildings" section. Also, more than a dozen new postcard images were added of the Michigan Central Station, and a more complete history of Tiger Stadium, as well as pictures from inside the stadium last October, were added. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071408 More photos of the demolition of Tiger Stadium added as part of the scoreboard is demolished. New video of Tiger Stadium's demolition added to our YouTube page. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071308 Tiger Stadium added to list of buildings. Historic photos and postcards and photos of its demolition this week also added. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#071108 Gallery functionality has returned! Look for galleries to return to all buildings on the website as we re-populate them. http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#070308 The site has been moved to a new host. Work is ongoing to have functional photo galleries.On a side note, if you have Facebook, click here to be a friend on our page! http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/about/archive/#043008