After our guided tours of the Fisher Building and Fox Theatre, we followed our own self-guided walking tour of other architectural buildings of interest in Detroit’s Downtown.
The Cadillac Book Western Hotel is a historic luxury hotel built in 1924 and originally named the Book-Cadillac Hotel after the Book Brothers, who were prominent real estate developers in Detroit. Also designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, its eastern façade on Michigan Ave hosts a series of sculptures depicting historic figures including Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of the settlement that became Detroit, General Anthony Wayne, who led a campaign against American Indians in the Northwest Territory in 1790, Odawa war chief Pontiac, and Deputy Governor Robert Navarre.
The 38-story Italian Renaissance styled Book Tower with a green copper roof is yet another historic skyscraper developed by and named after the Book Brothers. It was briefly the tallest building in the city at the time of its construction before being overtaken by the Penobscot Building shortly after. Book Tower was built as an addition to the pre-existing Book Building, a 13-story office building that opened in 1917. Like many of the other luxury skyscrapers in the area, Book Tower fell into decline starting in the 1960s and changed owners multiple times until it was finally renovated and restored in 2015. The building now includes residential apartments, event spaces and several restaurants and bars. Ornate exterior detailing include Corinthian columns, florets, scrolls and crests. Most striking are the 29 nude sculpted female caryatids which serve as architectural supports across top of the Book building and the middle of Book Tower.
Inside, the Book Tower has a 3-story marble-arched atrium with a 2200 sq-foot skylight in its rotunda that features 6200 glass panels and over 7000 individual glass jewels. It also features hand-painted plaster ceilings, a gilded clock adorned with winged cupids and other flourishes throughout the building. In a small corner of the lobby is a tiny museum showing a model of the tower, floor plans, archival drawings and photos, as well as some “treasures left behind” including newspaper clippings, matchbooks and a pack of beechnut gum.
The Book Tower has multiple restaurants to choose from including two Japanese restaurants (Hiroki-San and Sakazuki), Kampers, a rooftop Spanish-influenced tapas bar, Bar Rotunda with curated beverages and baked goods and Le Supreme, a Parisian-inspired brasserie offering French fare and all-day dining at the restaurant’s bar, outdoor patio and an elegant dining room. We decided to have lunch at the beautiful Le Supreme French restaurant whose dining room décor features walnut wood paneling, oxblood red leather booths, mosaic marble flooring, art nouveau tiles, globe shaped lamps and vintage artwork that makes you feel like you are in Paris.
I ordered the Chicken Paillard, a French dish which consists of a piece of seasoned grilled chicken flattened like a pancake to make it tender. It was served with fennel, green apple and arugula salad mixed with a cider vinaigrette. This was a very French take on preparing chicken and was tasty but could have used a bit of a lemony sauce. Rich opted for the Eggs Norwegian (poached eggs with smoked salon, spinach and hollandaise sauce) served with home fries. We finished off with an almond croissant, lemon financier cake and a latte. The bathroom stalls were interesting as they were numbered and reminded me of stalls in a horse stable. I’m not sure whether this was the look that was intended? It was a cute pun for the bill to come with a post card of Diana Ross and the Supremes.
Campus Martius is a 2.5-acre public space located at the intersection of Woodward and Michigan Avenues that includes public spaces with tables and chairs, two performance stages, a seasonal skating rink, the large Woodward Fountain with Las Vegas-like jets and sprays that can be coordinated with lights and music, a Detroit arch and several notable sculptures. These include the Civil War-era Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Monument and a pair of monuments fabricated from stainless steel, cast glass and granite which can be illuminated from within. Titled the Monroe and Woodward markers, they reflect Detroit’s influences in culture (theatre, museums, art and sports) and leadership in technology and innovation especially in manufacturing, transportation and automotive industries.
Located across from Campus Martius is a 17-foot bronze sculpture by street artist KAWS, featuring his signature Mickey Mouse-like figures with “X”s for eyes. Titled “Waiting”, the work depicts a parent with his hand on the shoulder of his child. A couple of blocks east of Campus Martius is the old Wayne County Courthouse Building, a majestic granite and limestone building completed in 1902 that is a mixture of Roman Baroque Revival, Beaux Arts and Neoclassic styles with impressive sculptures throughout the top of the 5-story building and around the top of the central tower. On either side of the tower is a bronze sculpture of a female figure on a chariot with four horses (a quardriga), with one female representing Victory and the other Progress. The figures on each corner of the tower represent Law, Commerce, Agriculture and Mechanics.
The “H-shaped” limestone and granite Penobscot Building is a 47-story Art Deco building constructed in 1928 for lumber baron Simon J. Murhpy who worked on the Penobscot River in Maine in his youth. Named after the Penobscot tribe of American Indians in New England, the American Indian theme is prevalent in the sculptural designs by Corrado Parducci, both in the exterior and interior of the building. A large sculpture of a Plains Indian Chief in full headdress sits prominently above the large window over the entrance of the building while smaller carvings of Indian heads, swastikas symbolizing sun worship, good fortune and spirituality, and flowing river motifs can be found on adjacent windows. Geometric patterns on the gilded metal work above the doors reflect Southwest Indian art including stylized images of birds and arrow heads that reflect Art Deco motifs of speed and motion.
The building is topped with a red neon orb 12-feet in diameter that was used as an aviation beacon, as illustrated by the image on the carpet at the entry way. The Indian motifs continue inside the building with more metal designs on the elevator doors and large carved figures holding staffs and spears on pillars and walls. Even the overhead lights seem to form the shape of a bird in flight when viewed from a certain angle. The Penobscot Tower is part of a complex with two earlier buildings including an original 13-story building from 1905 and a 24-story addition completed in 1916. The tower was the tallest building in Detroit until 1977.
My favourite building in our self-guided architectural tour of downtown Detroit is the Guardian Building, the 40-story Art Deco gem that we first caught sight of on the first day of our road trip. We could see it looming in the Detroit skyline as we stood by the Detroit River at the waterfront in Windsor, Ontario. With its orange brick and colourful designs towards the top of the building, the Guardian (by Wirt C. Rowland) looked so much like the Buffalo City Hall (designed by George Dietel and John Wade) that I erroneously thought the two towers were created by the same architects. Beautiful architectural patterns, tile work and carvings can be found at the top of the granite base before it transitions to orange brick, and at the top of the building. The building was originally created for Union Trust Company after it merged with National Bank of Commerce.
The interior of the Guardian Building is even more stunning and is literally gasp-inducing when first viewed. Dubbed Detroit’s “Cathedral of Finance”, the vaulted ceiling and archways of the three-story lobby are decorated with Pewabic Tiles and Rookwood pottery to create a multi-coloured Aztec-themed design. Rare marbles imported from around the world are used for the giant columns. A glass mosaic depicting a stylized pine tree representing Michigan’s lumber industry is installed above the security desk in the lobby with the text “Founded on principles of faith and understanding …”, which was the motto of Union Trust. The elevator doors made are from the more durable Monel metal instead of stainless steel and feature geometric patterns and colourful designs made with Tiffany glass. A fabulous stained-glass depiction of an Indian chief made with blue, green and ochre pieces of glass, as well as Aztec-themed carvings in metal also decorate the elevator bays. An Art Deco ornamental screen, also made from Monel metal with a pattern of ridged diamonds, sits at the top of a staircase that marks the entry to the second floor which was the former Bank Hall. A gorgeous Deco clock by Tiffany sits at the top of this screen.
In the Bank Hall, a floor-to-ceiling mural by Ezra Winter depicts the State of Michigan, its workers, natural resources and industries including manufacturing, farming and mining. Today, the Guardian Building is the headquarters for Wayne County government offices with other tenants including SmithGroupJJR, which is the architectural firm that originally designed the building. The arches in the Bank Hall which held the former teller cages, now host small businesses including a coffee shop, cantina, gift shops and City Detroit Tours. Of all the beautiful skyscrapers from the turn of the century and roaring 20s that we visited on our self-guided architecture tour, this was by far the most impressive. If we make it back to Detroit, I would like to revisit the Guardian building to get a better view of the entrance which was under repair and covered with scaffolding, as well as consider taking a guided tour which might allow us a glimpse of some of the upper floors.
In addition to the historic heritage skyscrapers, Detroit’s downtown has many other interesting buildings that juxtaposition both old and new architecture. Vintage red brick buildings including a narrow, flatiron-like property stand in the same sightlines as modern gleaming glass-covered structures in vibrant colours including one where a large screen displaying electronic advertisements sits on the roof. The stylish techno nightclub Bleu, appropriately painted in baby blue, has a beautiful Streamline Moderne design that stands out from the other buildings in the area. I really liked the mural titled “One Man Army” by Spanish street artist Aryz on the side of a building at 25 East Grand River that was commissioned by the art gallery Library Street Collective.
The People Mover opened in 1987 but has been controversial because of its high costs, delays, and limited scope since the original plan to tie the small loop to the regional rapid transit system got descoped due to funding issues. The fact that each stop is so close to the next (walkable within a few blocks) and that the loop only goes in one direction makes it very impractical to use the system. There is public art at each station, which we first spotted when we saw a sculpture on the platform of the Grand Circus station. What’s more, to promote the usage of the system, it is free to ride the People Mover in 2024, as sponsored by Priority Waste. Because of this, we decided it would be a fun thing to do for us to hop on and off at each station to look at the artworks.
We started off at Broadway Station but before entering, we stopped to admire the large mural of a stylish couple dancing and the bronze sculpture of four kids doing the YMCA that was next to the station. The sculpture is so popular that Broadway is also known as the “YMCA” station. There was no attendant at the station and as advertised, the turnstiles did not require payment, so we entered for free.
The Broadway Station has two distinctive works of art. The first work, at the base of the station by the turnstiles, is the painted mural “Blue Nile” by renowned Detroit African American painter and sculptor Charles McGee (1924-2021) which depicts the story of Noah’s Ark in an African style. We saw a similar work on the same topic by McGee in the Detroit Institute of Art a few days earlier. The second work located, at the top of the escalator, is an untitled tile mural by Japanese artist Jun Keneko where each long, rectangular tile has diagonal stripes that are yellow, pink, cyan and black, forming an intricate pattern when placed side by side.
The next stop was Grand Circus Park and there, to my delight, was the bronze sculpture of the commuter with a briefcase at his feet, reading the May 21, 1987 issue of the Detroit News newspaper while waiting for the next train. Titled “Catching Up” by J. Seward Johnson, this was the sculpture that I saw from the ground which first prompted my desire to ride the People Mover. At Times Square Station, beautiful designs made from Pewabic tiles in vibrant orange, red and cyan colours grace the walls alongside the escalator leading up to the platform. The tiled wall along the escalator at Michigan Station depicts flattened bronze silhouettes by Kirk Newman of frantic commuters dashing for the train, riding up the escalator and several men losing their briefcases in the turmoil.
At Huntington Place (aka TFC Centre), beautiful sparkling Venetian glass mosaic tiles by Larry Ebel and Linda Cianciolo Scarlett depict vintage cars including 1931 and 1949 Chryslers, a 1931 Model A Ford, 1948 Buick and 1957 Chevrolet. At Joe Louis Arena Station, which is home to the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, Gerome Kamrowski’s orange-hued mosaic mural made from Venetian glass is titled Voyage and depicts the constellations and astrological figures, although when I look at it, I think I see fish. On the platform of the Financial District Station, we saw a tiled mural of a pair of peacocks by Joyce Kozloff, and this is what we took a photo of before reboarding the same train. Had we gotten off and looked around further, we would have seen a second tiled work along the escalator wall by Kozloff depicting a bear and bull, which makes much more sense for the station where the stock exchange resides. We will need to check this out on our next trip. Hopefully the ride is still free! At the Renaissance Centre Station is colourful tile art by George Woodman titled “Path Games” which features 2625 pieces of colourful Pewabic tiles as well as a cast bronze sculpture by Marshall Fredericks called Siberian Ram.
We skipped a few stations that seemed of lesser interest to us, so our last stop was Cadillac Centre Station which features a series of giant purple arches made from Pewabic tiles. The work by Diana Kulisek Pancioli is titled “In Honur of Mary Chase Stratton”, who was the founder of Pewabic Pottery (which we would visit the next day). Looking closely at some of the purple tiles, you can see etched depictions of people involved in various occupations and disciplines including dentistry, medicine, manufacturing, secretarial, chemistry, arts and more. It was fun riding on the People Mover, but it felt more like a tourist attraction than a good source of transportation for the people of Detroit. In retrospect, I am not convinced that the additional function provided by this system is worth all the concrete weaving through the streets and obscuring the lovely architecture.
While in the downtown area, we had lunch at Grand Trunk Pub, which dates back to 1905 when it was the ticket station for the Grand Trunk Railway. The building was transformed into a pub in 2006 but many elements of the original station still exist including archival photos, plaques describing the history of the location, track and railway crossing signage, a train schedule blackboard, vintage railway lanterns, and the carved wooden logos depicting the GT insignia signifying Grand Trunk. In the main space, the original vaulted ceiling from 1911 has been restored while in a side room, a pressed tin ceiling is found.
It was fun having lunch in an old train station. I had a lobster benedict with poached eggs, spinach, onion and tomato topped with chunks of lobster on an English muffin with hollandaise sauce, while Rich had the Reuben sandwich with corned beef, stout kraut, Swiss cheese and 1000 Island dressing on grilled rye bread.
As we wandered around downtown Detroit, we wondered about the tiny monorail that seemed to meander around a small part of the heart of the city towards the waterfront. We first glimpsed bright yellow railcars whizzing by from the Windsor lakeshore. We found out that this is the Detroit People Mover, a light rail public transit service that operates on a 2.94-mile elevated track, traveling at a speed of 56mph and stopping at 13 stations that provide access to major attractions, sports venues and other popular locations. Without getting off, it takes about 12-15 minutes to ride the entire loop.
Our plan was to get off at each station, look at the art, then wait for the next train which would be about 4-5 minutes away. Had we more time and energy, we might have exited each station to wander around and check out the neighbourhood. But we embarked on this adventure after a full day in Detroit and were too tired for such an ambitious schedule. So, we settled for staying within each station and viewed the surrounding area from the platform and by looking out the window while on the train. At Broadway Station, we saw the “One Man Army” mural again but from a different perspective, looking down upon it instead of looking up from the ground. As we traversed each station, we became more and more tired and thus for some of the works that were found right on the platform, we just jumped out, took a quick photo and jumped back onto the same train to save time. The few other passengers on the mostly empty cars looked on with amusement as we did this.
It was interesting reading some of the old railway signs and learning the archaic meanings of some terms that have totally different connotations today. A metal sign from the Somerset & Dorset Railway reviews the company rule that “Enginemen are forbidden to blow their whistles or drain cocks whilst standing in the station as this might frighten horses and alarm passengers. Leaking cocks must be attended to”. This refers to clearing water from a steam engine drain, and not what modern day usage of this term might suggest. The Men’s restrooms have an additional sign indicating “For Trainmen Only”. In the Ladies room are several interesting signs. One reads “DO NOT HUMP by order of New York Central Railroad”. I had to Google to make sure there was an “innocent” railway-related meaning for this phrase and found that it referred to pushing a string of cars to the top of a hump (hill?) and uncoupling them to allow them to roll down to different tracks. Having this sign inside a washroom was a bit disconcerting. Another sign on the stall door reads “Kindly flush toilet after each use EXCEPT when Train is standing in Station”. This was not really a situation that I wanted to envision. I wonder what signs are inside the Men's restroom? After lunch, I checked out the upstairs space of the pub which is known as the Whiskey Parlor, which has balcony seating with views overlooking the main bar.
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