Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex
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Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex
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View from Cass Avenue. Prentis Building is on right; the DeRoy Auditorium is behind and to the left.
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| Location | 5201, 5203 Cass Avenue Detroit, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 42°21′28″N 83°4′6″W / 42.35778°N 83.06833°WCoordinates: 42°21′28″N 83°4′6″W / 42.35778°N 83.06833°W |
| Built | 1962-1964 |
| Architect | Minoru Yamasaki |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| NRHP Reference # | 11000222 |
| Added to NRHP | May 3, 2011 |
The Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex consists of two educational buildings, the Meyer and Anna Prentis Building and the Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium, located respectively at 5201 and 5203 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, on the campus of Wayne State University. The buildings were built at the same time, and were designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki to interrelate functionally, spatially, and architecturally. The buildings were constructed at a critical point in Yamasaki's career when he was experimenting with ornamentation, light and shadow, and the use of pools and gardens to soften perception of standard International Style architecture. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
In August 1955, Wayne State University hired architect Minoru Yamasaki to design the McGregor Memorial Conference Center. The commission came after Yamasaki's long convalescence and subsequent trip to Japan, and was his first opportunity to put into practice his re-envisionment of architecture. In 1957, Wayne State hired Yamasaki's firm to develop a master plan for the University's urban campus.
Both the McGregor Center and the campus master plan were completed in 1958. The McGregor Center opened to immediate accolades from architectural magazines who called it "delightful" and "refreshing," and from the American Institute of Architects who awarded Yamasaki a First Honor Award for the design. The building solidified Yamasaki's reputation as a masterful International Style architect.
Yamasaki's campus master plan called for closing off streets to auto traffic and constructing a campus around pedestrian courts. Although the entirety of Yamasaki's vision was never realized, he did design a total of four buildings on the campus: the aforementioned McGregor Memorial Conference Center in 1957-58, the College of Education Building in 1960, and the two buildings in this complex, the Prentis Building and adjoining Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium, in 1962-1964.
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