The University Club

[detroiturbex]

"The University Club on East Jefferson originally was a place for college graduates to gather and compare educations. The members built their final home in 1931 on East Jefferson. It included squash and racquetball courts, leaded glass, antlered trophy heads, and the dining room: a two story great hall. There were 20 bedrooms on the third floor for permanent occupants and 4 for visitors."The Detroit News

When the University Club closed in 1992 it was purchased by the Detroit YWCA. The YWCA moved out in 2008 due to the expense involved in upkeep.



The University Club as it appeared in the summer of 2010. By this point the building had been sacked and looted, and the new owner had boarded up many of the broken windows.





The interior of the University Club was a twisting labyrinth of staircases and architectural styles. It was very easy to get lost.





One of my favorite rooms. Within a matter of weeks the chair was gone, the room had started to fill with trash, and someone was living in it.





The main hall.








Check-in desk for the guest rooms.





Most impressive of all was the library / study.





Guests could check out books, periodicals, and journals that covered a wide array of topics.





On my last visit to the University Club, the library had been robbed of most of it's books, and many of the book cases were stripped out.





Another thing I loved about the University Club was how a stairwell that seemingly led nowhere would open up into something unexpected; for instance, this stairwell goes down to the below-ground levels pictured below.





The sauna also featured a full-service bar.





Lockers in the hallway leading to the underground rec facilities.





Changing room for the racquetball courts.





The basketball court.





I only just happened to stumble across the basketball court.





Racquetball court.








One of several lounges.





This room always puzzled me... this looks like an altar of sorts, complete with a ram's horn...


Unfortunately, like so many vacant buildings in Detroit, the University Club quickly became a magnet for scrappers and vandals. Within a month of the first visit many of the fixtures and chandeliers had been stolen. Today the club is more or less destroyed, filled with trash and graffiti.


The future doesn't look too bright. The new owner also owns the liquor store across the street. His plans for the building may include demolishing it to make way for a parking lot, but that has not been confirmed.


For more pictures see: http://detroiturbex.com/content/down...lub/uclub.html

[JJD]

Great pics, these make me so sad to see, Wood work like that and an undeground rec facility would cost millions to make today. I know it is a very old story here, but it still stings.

[Patrick]

So is the building thatt is being taken down?

[LodgeDodger]

So is the building thatt is being taken down?

It had better not--the University Club has an interim historic designation.

[buildingsofdetroit]

It had better not--the University Club has an interim historic designation.

Now, what would you need to stop the demo of something with an interim historic designation? See another thread on the board right now ...

[LodgeDodger]

Well, if people in this fucking town would abide by the law... And, if the laws in this town were enforced. If this building goes, I say sue the MF who owns the place and has allowed it to be looted. But then again, who would sue him?

And while I'm in charge of the world, I say sue the MF for an amount that would break him. No more of these slaps on the wrist. I say make the punishment something that would make people think twice.

I'm also in favor of executing the owners who pull shit like this.

[gazhekwe]

That is truly sickening. [[I mean what is happening to the U Club, not what LD said).

[kahnman]

Don't hold back LD, how do you really feel?

[LodgeDodger]

I'm just tired of the bullshit in this city.

[kahnman]

Hey, I'm with you on that. I just don't want to see your head explode, ala "Scanners" style, lol.

[LodgeDodger]

No worries about exploding brain matter. It's just that I'm so tired of the "demo first, apologize later" mentality in this city.

[Blueidone]

What an absolute shame!!! I just love the old buildings with so much history. This should have been preserved in some manner. And LD is right about the MF who let this happen!

[East Detroit]

Laughable when people get high and mighty and they don't support our own industry.

Sorry, but you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Why are the buildings empty?
We are exporting our jobs and cash from Detroit to other places.
Simple math. And if you subtract, then get off your soapbox.

[LodgeDodger]

Once you pull your head out of your ass, you'll realize that Detroit is in this condition because it fed on itself. The very people who were supposed to watch over the city, raped it.

[wolverine]

Detroit of the past = incredible architecture, some of the best of this country
Detroit of today = building cinder block party stores, aluminum sided infill.

Cinder block party stores = sh!t

So that means, Detroit equals....

Well, I'll leave you to it....at least not far off from national perception either.

[stromberg2]

I'm with Lodge and Blue, fuckers have been raping this city for years. If we are lucky, soon we'll look like Hall Rd. Somebody in the city sure hates beautiful architecture. Another party store or parking lot.....are you kidding me??!!

Stromberg2

[reddog289]

It's sad to see places like that end up like that.No wonder Detroit gets to be on show like "Life after People". What a waste.

[One Shot]

Truly disgusting that a building with so much detail is being picked apart and ruined.

[wolverine]

What's sickening is thinking about what this place used to be before in the Detroit of the past. Educated professionals moving to Detroit and having meetings at this place. Way back when this place used to be a destination for people to come and get great jobs. From high society to a low class liquor stores. From collegiate gothic architecture to third world cinder block.

[reddog289]

Of all the pictures I see with the abandoned buildings, I am amazed at how much stuff is just left behind.Schools, Factories, Homes and this place.What a wasteful era we live in.

[RickBeall]

Cue the music.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=9570399

[GPCharles]

Basketball court????

That is a rackets court, one of two in Detroit and the last Bickley process court built in North America. Truly a wonderful rackets court, with a very solid back wall. Basketball was a very late addition to the U Club scene.

Also, the picture of a "racquetball" court is a picture of one of the fours singles squash courts. There was also a double squash court, with a very low ceiling that made it almost unplayable.

[detroiturbex]

Basketball court????

That is a rackets court, one of two in Detroit and the last Bickley process court built in North America. Truly a wonderful rackets court, with a very solid back wall. Basketball was a very late addition to the U Club scene.

Also, the picture of a "racquetball" court is a picture of one of the fours singles squash courts. There was also a double squash court, with a very low ceiling that made it almost unplayable.

Thanks GPCharles for the corrections, I had no idea. Do you have any more information about the Bickley courts or the University Club in general?

[old guy]

Of all the pictures I see with the abandoned buildings, I am amazed at how much stuff is just left behind.Schools, Factories, Homes and this place.What a wasteful era we live in.

That's always amazed me too. Even some of the photos I've seen where the scrappers have been through them. I've seen several photos with 50's & 60's office chairs that are easily worth $50 - $100 each. I don't get it.

[Blueidone]

By the way...that you detroiturbex for the terrific pictures! You have preserved what little was left at the time.