Printable View
Several slabs of the marble/granite have been removed from the Woodward Ave and the John R sides of the building exposing the huge circular cast iron columns. It appears that there is nothing left of the original facade. The current facade was a major and very expensive redo---around 50 years ago, give or take.
I judged the iron columns to be probably 6 feet in circumference.
I stopped by this morning and took a couple of photos with the slabs missing. I have a particular interest in this building as I lived on the second floor 23 years ago.
I want to read into this that maybe the Gilbert folks are considering replicating the old facade. I'm sure this is likely improbable, but I can dream. That marble's got to be worth something, and perhaps it's sale could subsidize restoring the old look. I found a photo from 1919 in the Wayne State Digital Colllection: http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/imag...-75610%5D75610 It looks like the first floor was mostly doors and windows with some ornamentation in between. How hard could that be to reproduce?
My photos of the slabs removed:
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Wow. It's only six stories too.Quote:
Originally Posted by detroitbob
Street View
WikiQuote:
...one of the oldest buildings in downtown Detroit.... The building was erected using a cast iron frame and was the first in Detroit with an electrical elevator— a technology that facilitated the skyscraper.
Would not be hard to create the visual of the original, there are many examples around the country, alas nothing in Detroit. Some victorian restoration in old downtown Ann Arbor.