Buhl Building

535 Griswold – Buhl Building – Steel-frame twenty-six-story skyscraper faced in terra cotta and granite (1925) – Wirt C. Rowland of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, architect. Corrado G. Parducci, sculptor. Located at the southwest corner of Griswold and Congress Streets. The first four stories of the building have a rectangular footprint that fills the lot line. The plan of the upper office floors (floors five through twenty-six) is in the form of a Greek cross. The services and elevators extend upward through the center of the cross, and short hallways radiate in all directions. This cruciform arrangement allows every office to have an outside window, along with eight corner suites on each floor. The flat roof has two levels. A large central elevator service penthouse rises two additional stories above the building’s gabled roofline. The exterior is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic details all cast from models provided by sculptor Corrado Parducci. The exterior is faced in cream-colored terra cotta blocks. An outstanding feature is the Griswold Street entrance, set back into an arched recess decorated with Romanesque carving and a mosaic tiled ceiling. A private businessman’s club, the Savoyard Club, was intended for the twentieth floor. The current windows are double-hung aluminum windows, replacements of the originals.

This article is about the building in Detroit. For the building in Pittsburgh, see Buhl Building (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).The Buhl Building is a 29-story office skyscraper in the Financial District of downtown Detroit, Michigan. Constructed in 1925, it was designed by Wirt C. Rowland in a Neo-Gothic style with Romanesque accents.The building stands atop what used to be the Savoyard Creek near its confluence with the Detroit River. In 1836, the creek was covered and turned into a sewer. The Savoyard Club occupied the 27th floor of the Buhl Building from 1928 until its membership dwindled and the club closed in 1994.On June 11, 1982, a man upset over a delayed insurance payment entered a law firm on the 8th floor and opened fire with a shotgun, killing a law clerk, and starting a fire using a Molotov cocktail. People in the building smashed windows for fresh air and to enable rescue, but were forced to wait as Detroit Fire Department ladders were unable to reach above the 6th floor. An off-duty Detroit Police sergeant responded to the scene and took the man into custody; he was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.William Edward Kapp, architect for the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, has been credited with interior design work on the Buhl Building. The architectural sculpture on the building was designed by Corrado Parducci.The Citizens Bank Building in downtown Saginaw, Michigan was modeled after the Buhl Building.The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation has its headquarters in the building. Fink + Associates Law's Detroit office is located in Suite 1000. The Consulate of Italy in Detroit used to be located in Suite 1840 until 2021.Hubbell, Roth & Clark, a civil engineering firm, is also based in the building.At one time Real Times Media, the owner of several black newspapers in the US, had its headquarters in the building.Michigan Nonprofit Association, a statewide membership organization that serves the nonprofit sector, has its Metro Detroit office in the Buhl Building.• Buhl Building, circa 1920• Buhl Building in the shadow of the Penobscot Building• List of tallest buildings in Detroit• Hill, Eric J.; Gallagher, John (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3120-0.• Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Shadowing Parducci, unpublished manuscript, Detroit.• Meyer, Katherine Mattingly; McElroy, Martin C. P. (1980). Detroit Architecture A. I. A. Guide. Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (Revised ed.). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1651-1.• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3270-2.• Savage, Rebecca Binno; Kowalski, Greg (2004). Art Deco in Detroit. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3228-8.• Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Dearborn, Michigan: Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-933691-09-4.Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buhl Building.• Official Website (Caution: Macromedia Flash is required to enter)• "Where Detroit's elite met to eat". The Detroit News. October 12, 2004.Skyscrapers and complexes • 150 West Jefferson• Ally Detroit Center• Book Tower• Broderick Tower• Buhl Building• Cadillac Place• Cadillac Square Building (demolished)• Cadillac Tower• Chrysler House• David Whitney Building• Detroit Life Building• Executive Plaza Building• Federal Reserve Building• First National Building• Fisher Building• Ford Building• Fort Pontchartrain Hotel• Francis Palms Building• Guardian Building• Hudson's Detroit• Industrial Building• Lafayette Building (demolished)• Michigan Central Station• Millender Center• One Campus Martius• One Griswold Street• One Kennedy Square• One Woodward Avenue• Penobscot Building• Renaissance Center• Riverfront Condominiums Detroit• David Stott Building• Westin Book Cadillac Hotel• Meridian Health Plan Headquarters (proposed)• Detroit Statler Hotel (demolished)• Water Board Building• Wurlitzer Building, a former Wurlitzer office buildingParks • Belle Isle• Campus Martius Park• Water Works Park (closed)Public art • Bagley Memorial Fountain• Scott Fountain• Russell Alger Memorial Fountain• General Alexander Macomb• Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument• The Spirit of Detroit• Stevens T. Mason• General Thaddeus KosciuszkoOther landmarks • Comerica Park• Detroit Athletic Club• Detroit Building• Detroit City Hall (demolished)• Detroit Opera House• Detroit Public Safety Headquarters• Detroit Club (club defunct, but building still exists)• Elwood Bar• Farwell Building• The Fillmore Detroit• Ford Auditorium (demolished)• Ford Field• Fort Shelby Hotel• Fort Street Presbyterian Church• Fox Theatre• Frank Murphy Hall of Justice• Gem Theatre• Griswold Building Senior Apartments• Hollywood Casino• Huntington Place• Joe Louis Arena (demolished)• Kennedy Fountain, a/k/a Kennedy Square (demolished)• MGM Grand Detroit• Park Avenue House• Town Apartments• Veterans' Memorial Building• Wayne County Building• William Livingstone Memorial Light, only marble lighthouse in the United States, located on Belle Isle• Women's City Club• Coleman A. Young Municipal Center• University Club (demolished)• Yondotega ClubDetroit People Mover stations • Broadway• Bricktown• Cadillac Center• Financial District• Fort/Cass• Grand Circus Park• Greektown• Huntington Place• Michigan Avenue• Millender Center• Renaissance Center• Times Square• Water SquareThis list is incomplete. The Michigan State University College of Law was in Downtown Detroit prior to 1997 and was known as the "Detroit College of Law." Low rise under 10 stories selectedParks and gardens • Belle Isle• Cranbrook• Campus Martius• Grand Circus• Metroparks• Matthaei Botanical Gardens• Riverfront parks• Detroit ZooMuseums and libraries • Cranbrook Educational Community• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History• Detroit Historical Museum• Detroit Institute of Arts• Detroit Public Library• Detroit Science Center• Edsel and Eleanor Ford House• Fair Lane• Ford Piquette Avenue Plant• The Henry Ford• Meadowbrook Hall• Pewabic Pottery• Southfield Public Library• University of Michigan Museum of ArtReligious landmarks • Religious landmarksPerformance centers • Theatres and performing arts venuesNeighborhood Historic DistrictsSee also: List of tallest buildings in Detroit

National Register of Historic Places Filing

Physical Description

Historical Photos

From Wikipedia

Building Details

Ford Motor Company, Piquette Plant

Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts

Waterworks Park

Detroit Public Library