Basso Building

[buildingsofdetroit]

I just came across a photo gallery of shots from 1986 showing the unbelievably gorgeous Basso Building on Woodward just north of Grand Boulevard. What on earth happened to this beauty? It didn't look THAT bad [[especially compared with the Latin Quarters nearby, etc.). There's nothing on its site. Can anyone fill us in on the story? I mean, this thing was gorgeous. Not sure if this link will work, but I'll try:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/.../~ammem_hGNN::

[Gsgeorge]

What on earth happened to this beauty?

Thanks for bringing another depressing sight to our attention. I am sure we're much better off with whatever parking lot and/or ghettostore is in its place...

[Lorax]

I remember this building, and admired it for years. It was barely occupied in the early-mid eighties, and if it hadn't been for this thread, I wouldn't have remembered it was missing from our landscape.

A glazed terra-cotta beauty in really salvagable condition at the time of it's demolition- late 80's or early 90's as I recall.

So much of the area is missing- the elegant stone columned bank on the NW corner of Grand Blvd & Woodward where that fenced parking lot is now. Also, the Demery's art deco store 2 blocks south [[later Crowley's), dozens of infill structures too numerous to mention or remember.

These buildings represent our built environment/background fabric of what makes a city a city. Sad we are still fighting this battle.

[buildingsofdetroit]

No one remembers? Ahh, how soon we forget.

[K-slice]

Broken picture link!

[abtexusa]

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage...mp/~ammem_oUQf::