David Whitney Building
| David Whitney Building | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Type | residential/hotel |
| Architectural style | Neo-Renaissance |
| Location | 1 Park Avenue Detroit, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°20′8.5″N 83°3′1.5″W / 42.335694°N 83.050417°WCoordinates: 42°20′8.5″N 83°3′1.5″W / 42.335694°N 83.050417°W |
| Completed | 1915 |
| Renovated | 1959, 2014 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 272 ft (83 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 19 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Graham, Burnham & Co. |
| Renovating team | |
| Renovating firm | Roxbury Group, Trans Inn Management, Starwood Hotels |
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David Whitney Building
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| Part of | Grand Circus Park Historic District (#83000894) |
| Designated CP | February 28, 1983 |
| References | |
The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper located at 1 Park Avenue (1550 Woodward Avenue from 1921 to 2014), on the northern edge of Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The building stands on a wedge-shaped site at the junction of Park Avenue, Woodward Avenue, and Washington Boulevard. Construction on the 19-floor structure began in 1914.
The building is named for David Whitney Jr., a wealthy Detroiter who earned millions of dollars as a lumber baron dealing in white pine; his father was said to be the employer of Paul Bunyan. The structure was designed by Graham, Burnham & Co., the successor firm to the D.H. Burnham Company. It may be said that the building was designed in the "Daniel Burnham style", or perhaps, "inspired by Daniel Burnham". The first assertion that Daniel Burnham himself designed the building was made in a 1950s press article about the building's modernization, probably a misreading (or embellishment). Burnham died in 1912, two years before the project was announced, and no contemporary record gives any indication that he was involved with the design of the building prior to his death.
Appropriately for Detroit, the exterior was originally styled with clean lines in a Neo-Renaissance style faced with terra cotta and glazed brick. The original façade was altered in 1959, when decorative cornices were replaced with a 'modern' top. The first four stories of this building contain a large retail atrium. It was one of Detroit's first major mixed-use projects and was a popular location for many medical offices. The Metro Times, an early alternative weekly, was once published from offices in the highrise. There are 19 floors housing office and retail space with a two-story mechanical penthouse at the rear of the building. The Detroit People Mover's Grand Circus Park station is located at the first and second floors of this building.
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