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.