2024 Detroit: Architecture - Fisher Bldg, Fox Theatre, Comerica Stadium

While the focus of our first day in Detroit was art, the next few days were spent admiring the architecture in the Midtown, Downtown and Waterfront districts.  As one of the rust-belt cities that prospered in the early to mid 20th Century but fell into decline in the 1950s-60s, the city of Detroit was too poor to tear down its “old” buildings to erect modern ones, as happened in Toronto and other metropolitans.  As a result, gorgeous buildings from the good times remained, have since been restored and are now declared heritage sites. In terms of viewing architecture in Detroit, for the most part we planned to do our own self-guided tour which involved wandering into the lobby or ground floor of each building to look around. The two exceptions were the Fisher Building and Fox Theatre who offered in-depth tours that would take us to areas inside the buildings that would not be accessible to the public.

We started off in midtown with the intent to visit the Cadillac Place, a 15-story Neo-classical limestone building with four wings, an arched colonnade and Ionic columns designed by renowned Detroit Albert Kahn. Completed in between 1919-1923, it was formerly the headquarters for General Motors and is now used for government offices.  Unfortunately, the interior of Cadillac Place was only open for visitors on weekdays, and we were in the area on a Sunday, dictated by our guided tour of the Fisher Building. Only able to view the exterior of the building, we admired the clock above the name of the building, flanked by sculptures of female figures representing Knowledge and Commerce, the intricate carvings in limestone beside the doors and the ornate designs in the arched ceiling of the two-story Corinthian colonnade leading to the entrance. If we return to Detroit in the future, we will try to tour the inside of this building as well.

The Fisher Building is an ornate 441-foot-tall, 31-story Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1928 with limestone, granite and several types of marble on its façade.  It is not a coincidence that this building is directly across the street from the former headquarters of General Motors (i.e. Cadillac Place) since the Fisher brothers made their fortune and financed their eponymous building with the proceeds earned from selling their company Fisher Body to General Motors.  A pair of copper eagles sit atop pylons on either side of the main entrance symbolizing protection, while a third eagle with its wings spread represents the entrepreneurial spirit of America. Gilded metalwork above the main doors includes depictions of male and female figures from antiquity with the letterings spelling out FISHER BUILDING above them.  We learned on our tour that the building’s roof was once covered with gold leaf tiles but during World War II, the tiles were covered with asphalt to camouflage the building from enemy bombers.  Following the war, the gold tiles could not be restored, so green tiles were installed instead.  Lights were added so that at night, the roof appears gold again (or green for St. Patrick’s Day and red during the NHL playoffs in honour of the Detroit Red Wings).

The interior of the Fisher Building is equally stunning with a 3-story barrel vaulted lobby constructed with 40 different types of marble from various locations and of different colours, as well as beautiful fresco paintings by Hungarian artist Geza Marioti depicting themes of power, commerce, transportation, culture (music, arts and drama) and civilization.  Designed by Anthony di Lorenzo, gilded panels on the elevator doors contain images representing navigation, arts, music, architecture, chemistry, finance, manufacturing, engineering, mining and more. Beautiful glass-tiled mosaics depict yet another eagle surrounded by stars and birds of paradise perched on hemlock branches.  Our tour guide told us that at one point, this building was the place to go for all your needs including shopping, haircuts, visits to the doctor, having tea in the tearoom, and included babysitting as well as a valet parking service that washed and filled your car up with gas before returning it to you.

Featured prominently on the floor of the lobby is a gold medallion depicting a relief of Mercury, Roman god of commerce, travel and communication, created by architectural sculptor Corrado Parducci. Around the medallion are marble inlays in browns, creams and reds, which are then surrounded by bronze inlays of figures representing the four elements of the ancient world—fire, water, earth and air.  Unfortunately, these panels have been eroded to the point where they are barely visible, and the entire work is now roped off to prevent further damage.  Our tour took us to the second and third floors where we got better views of the marvelous paintings on the ceiling including cherubs frolicking amongst hemlock and fruit, and the elaborate light fixtures each of which were unique in design. There are 13 chandeliers made from hand-crafted glass crystals surrounded by intricate ironwork.

Pomegranates are a prominent motif in the paintings, symbolizing prosperity, fertility and abundance.  An entire hallway on the third floor is covered with panels illustrating clusters of pomegranates.  Other symbols of wealth include a beehive representing money and industry.  Our tour then took us to one of the higher floors where offices are found.  At one point, the Fisher Brothers had suites on the 25-27th floors accessed by a private elevator.  The elevator panels on the upper floors depict images of hummingbirds, koi fish, owls, macaws and more.  From the windows of a currently empty office space, we had great views of Detroit as well as the stone carvings that grace the façade near the top of the tower.  A beautiful Art Deco elevator call button stand summoned an elevator to bring us back down to the ground.

We ended our tour by admiring the grand entrance to the Fisher Theatre located within the lobby of the Fisher Building. Open in 1928 as a 3000-seat movie and vaudeville house, the theatre was open 24-hours so that the shift workers at the auto plants could attend any time their shifts were done.  As was the fad of the time, the Fisher Theatre was over-the-top lavish, decorated in an Aztec themed Mayan-Revival style (this is a thing?) with Mexican-Indian art including large Mayan gods with lit-up eyes, banana trees, a koi pond, live macaws that the patrons could feed and a wandering turtle.  By the 1960s, the fad was over, and the interior of the theatre was redesigned as a mid century modern playhouse for live theatre reducing the seats to just over 2000.  Although much more practical in its new design, it is a shame that we are no longer able to see the original décor of the theatre, since archival photos show how incredible it was.  Luckily, the Fox Theatre which we would tour next did keep its original décor so we would get a taste of what once was.

With over 5000 seats including removeable ones in the orchestra pit, Fox Theatre opened in 1928 as the flagship movie palace of the Fox Theatres chain and is the largest surviving theatre from the 1920s. Designed by Detroit architect C.Howard Crane as a 10-story Art Deco-styled office tower with the theatre at the bottom, the building has a terracotta frame and a giant marquee spanning almost its entire height.  Neon lights prominently display the FOX logo flanked by a pair of winged griffins that shine brightly at night. The griffin motif is also shown on the gilded ironwork around the front entrance.  This Detroit theatre is one of five movie palaces built by William Fox Sr., who started with a small nickelodeon (movies cost a nickel back then) in 1904 and went on to found Fox Film Corporation.  Fox news reels would run prior to showing the movies.

Just like the Fisher Theatre, the design of Fox Theatre had to be bigger, grander and more opulent to compete with other movie houses of the time.  Fox’s wife Eva led the charge in the design and opted for a mixture of Hindu, Burmese, Chinese, Egyptian and Persian styles. The breathtaking 6-story-high lobby has eight vermillion red plaster/steel columns on either side of the entrance with black bases decorated with eagles, flowers, animals, silver leaves and glass jewels and Corinthian-like capitals adorned with faces, starbursts and Egyptian symbols.  The columns flank gigantic, but fake organ tubes above the 16 entrance doors. The ceiling is highlighted by a sky-blue fresco featuring a sunburst design and more Fox griffins. Two plaster lions with jeweled eyes sit at the base and fish-like sculptures are found on either side of the grand staircase leading to the 2898 orchestra-level seats of the theatre.  Now gone, it is said that Eva insisted on having wall-to-wall carpeting cover the entire lobby and theatre when it first opened. Oriental sculptures line the walls and beautiful chandeliers hang from the ceiling.  The opulence of this lobby is overwhelming, but it is more than matched by the splendor inside the theatre's auditorium.

The oval-shaped auditorium features a massive chandelier 13-feet in diameter, weighing 2000 pounds and made from 1200 pieces of coloured glass.  It is suspended from a tent-like dome with a sky-blue circular centre that really makes the ceiling pop.  The ornate red columns seen in the lobby are repeated in the auditorium and reach all the way to the balcony with Islamic-themed cusped arches positioned between them. With over 2200 seats, Fox Theatre has the world’s largest free-standing balcony which could move a few inches during performances with loud, vibrating music. Everywhere you looked, there were intricate ornamentation including griffins, butterflies, birds of paradise, dragons, serpents, eagles, deities and Hindu goddesses.

Our guide pointed out the two locations high up near the ceiling featuring the four playing card suits, meant as a tribute to Eva who liked to play card games.  Looking around, we saw heads of lions with rings through their mouths, faces of Hindu princesses and the traditional theatre masks representing comedy and drama.  The monkey motif is repeated both as wood carvings and a glowing monkey head sculpture at the base of a lantern.  The elephant is also a common motif throughout the theatre, found at the base of the columns and along the walls.  Most prominently, a large, gilded elephant head sits above the centre of the stage.  As related by the tour guide, the local lore was that all the other elephants were displayed with raised trunks except for this most important one.  Eva believed this to be bad luck and wanted to have it replaced but the cost was too high.  A year after the theatre opened, the Great Depression hit and by 1932, Fox was forced into bankruptcy so maybe there was something to the curse of the elephant after all! The banks took over Fox’s company and merged it with 20th Century film company to create 20th Century Fox while Fox Theatre continued to operate under various private managements, showing both films and live performances between 1930s-1960s.

The theatre closed in 1974 and faced potential demolition before it was acquired in 1988 by Mike and Marion Ilitch, owners of Little Caesar’s Pizza Corporation, who restored it back to its former glory for $12 million.  Improvements from the renovations included larger restrooms, adding an elevator, expanding food services and concession stands, converting mezzanine into private boxes (which we would get to sit in towards the end of the tour) and modernizing the backstage lighting and technical equipment.  The building next to Fox Theatre was purchased as the Little Caesar headquarters, and a bridge was built to attach the two structures.

As part of our tour, we were brought up on the stage and invited to sing or perform.  No one in our group took up the offer but we were told that on another tour, someone burst out into song.  There are two Wurlitzer organs in the theatre.  A small 3/12 Moller organ in the lobby enhances the musical capabilities of the theatre but the main organ is an Opus 1984 4/36 Wurlitzer installed by in 1928 that sits in the orchestra pit and can be raised and lowered as required. While walking onto the stage, we caught sight of the pulleys and other contraptions backstage, the trap doors on stage and the Wurlitzer organ.  This was such a special experience that would not have been possible without our tour.

Next, we took the elevator up to the upper level where the private boxes were found.  We were told that the elevators were manually operated to reduce noise and we while on the elevator, we saw the manual lever.  The upstairs lobby was less opulent than the main auditorium, but it was still was decorated with ornate, Oriental-themed panels and Islamic arches.  When we sat in the private boxes which had sofas in addition to traditional seating, it was a bit of a letdown since the view of the stage was slightly obscured by an overhang.  It is obvious that the boxes are meant more for schmoozing than watching a show.  However, these suites do come with private bathrooms and complimentary buffet dinner.

The last part of our tour was to see the famous Signature Wall backstage, which has become a tradition ever since Frank Sinatra signed the wall following his performance soon after the renovations in 1988.  Since then, each performer has been invited to sign the wall.  It was fun perusing the walls to find famous names which included Jerry Seinfeld, Liza Minelli, Chris Rock, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, and many more.  Casts of shows also signed their posters.  Our tour of this amazing theatre was a highlight of our trip.

Right across from Fox Theatre is Comerica Park and Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team since 2000.  Any doubts about which sports team resides at this location would easily be put to rest by the 15-foot-high tiger sculpture that sits in front of the main entrance next to a giant baseball bat, and the eight other large-scaled tiger statues found all around the stadium, along with 33 tiger heads with baseballs in their mouths along brick walls outside of the park.  Even without attending a baseball game, just walking by the stadium is so much fun.