Society of Architectural Historians - 2012 in Detroit

**southofbloor** · April-09-12, 10:30 PM

SAH annual conference hosted in Detroit next week - April 18-22 2012. Anyone else attending?

http://www.sah.org/index.php?src=gen...2012&submenu=0

**renf** · April-10-12, 08:22 AM

I will attend. I look forward to the many tours and the Detroit-oriented
sessions at this meeting. Detroit has so many downtown attractions now that the city could readily be promoted as a regional and national convention center.

**mccarch** · April-10-12, 09:14 AM

I'll be there. I've been to one SAH convention before and I enjoyed the mix of people - and their curiosity about buildings.

Should we figure out a secret handshake, or all wear green chrysanthemums in our lapels so we'll be able to recognize each other?

**Hamtragedy** · April-10-12, 09:48 AM

Surely they will find many structures to add to the "endangered" list, and probably find a few of those that are now extinct.

**JBMcB** · April-10-12, 10:54 AM

Awesome, awesome, awesome! Thanks for posting this, too bad the Art Deco tour is already booked up.

I'm supposed to get alerts when stuff like this is happening in Detroit but things always seem to fall through the cracks. Is there a good central repository for events like this happening in and around Detroit?

**Kathleen** · April-10-12, 11:01 AM

Can't afford to attend the conference itself, but the tours are open to the public and more or less affordable! [[Of course, a number of these tours can be taken through Preservation Detroit, the Detroit Historical Society, and other tour operators.)

As a Freer House volunteer, I'll be helping out with the Freer House and Ferry Ave. tours on both Thursday and Friday.

**southofbloor** · April-10-12, 10:14 PM

Should be good - great to see this particular group of academics coming to Detroit. Always amazes me how little has been written about the great architecture of Detroit [[biggest American city that Americans have never been to...) That will change this week.

**Gistok** · April-11-12, 04:51 PM

I was looking thru the itinerary and tours of the group, and was surprised that none of the downtown former movie palaces was on the visit list, especially the rehabs of the Gem-Century, and the adaptive reuse of the Capitol [[now Detroit Opera House). And of course... the jaw dropping Fox is always a showstopper. Kathleen... do you know if they visited any of these?

Also I was reading about Minuru Yamasaki. I didn't know that the only office tower he did before the World Trade Center was One Woodward Ave. When I give tours of downtown Detroit [[to usually a German or Hungarian bus full), I mention that One Woodward Ave. was likely a prototype for the World Trade Center. I didn't realize how "spot on" I was...

**Kathleen** · April-12-12, 05:20 AM

Originally Posted by Gistok

I was looking thru the itinerary and tours of the group, and was surprised that none of the downtown former movie palaces was on the visit list, especially the rehabs of the Gem-Century, and the adaptive reuse of the Capitol [[now Detroit Opera House). And of course... the jaw dropping Fox is always a showstopper. Kathleen... do you know if they visited any of these?...

No idea how the tours were created for the SAH conference. Karen N., formerly of PW, was involved to some extent, so she would be your best bet to ask about this.

**Kathleen** · April-20-12, 03:42 PM

I wrapped up my 2 days of helping with the lunchtime tour of the Freer House and Ferry Street. Met people from all parts of the country and overseas. All seemed to really enjoy them. I was fortunate enough to attend a few of the sessions, including a few on Detroit-related topics. Very interesting!!!

Renf: Nice to meet you!!