Ford Building

615 Griswold – Ford Building – Steel-frame eighteen-story office building faced in white terra cotta (1907-08) – D. H. Burnham & Company, architects. The square property site at the northwest corner of Griswold and Congress Streets is fully occupied. The fenestration pattern of vertical banks of paired double-hung windows is identical on both the Griswold and Congress facades. The building contains a light court through the alley (rear) façade in order to allow more light and air to interior offices. On the Griswold Street entrance, an overhanging marquee extends over the sidewalk. The terra cotta building façade is broken by bands running above and below the third floor. At the eighteenth floor, the top windows are arched. The seventeenth story is divided from the floors below by a band of terra cotta. The building displays Neoclassical detailing including a two-story base with columns and Ionic columns around a central entry and a two-story attic with piers supporting arches that span the uppermost window bays. The roof is flat, although a large elevator penthouse is located in the center of the building toward the Griswold side of the roof. Toledo, Ohio, glass manufacturer Edward Ford and his son, John B. Ford, general manager of the Fords’ Wyandotte, Michigan, alkali plant, had this building – then Detroit’s tallest – constructed as investment property. An article in the March 22, 1908, Free Press celebrating the building’s approaching completion explained that the Fords turned to investing in Detroit only after becoming disgusted with some Toledo property owners who kept raising prices on them after they agreed to purchase.

The Ford Building is a high-rise office building located at 615 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It stands at the northwest corner of Congress and Griswold Streets, in the heart of Detroit's Financial District. The Penobscot Building abuts the building to the north, and the Guardian Building is southeast across Griswold Street.Toledo, Ohio, glass manufacturer Edward Ford and his son, John B. Ford, general manager of the Fords' Wyandotte, Michigan, alkali plant, had this building—then Detroit's tallest—constructed as an investment property.Ford Building, circa 1900s Designed by Daniel Burnham, the building began construction in 1907 and was completed in 1908. It celebrated its 100th year in 2009, and was one of the first to use a steel structural support system.[citation needed] It stands at 23 stories in total height, with two basement floors, 19 above-ground floors, and two penthouses. It held the title as tallest building in Detroit from 1908 until 1913. The Ford Building's primary uses are for offices and retail. Burnham styled it with Neo-Classical and Neo-Renaissance elements. It is constructed with a steel skeleton faced with terra cotta tile and accented with white Italian marble. Burnham's other remaining skyscraper designs in Detroit include the David Whitney Building (1915) and the Dime Building (1912).• Michigan portal• Ford Building (San Diego, California)• Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)• Moore, Charles (1921). Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities, Volume 2. Houghton Mifflin.• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6.• Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 0-933691-09-2.• Ford Building WebsiteWikimedia Commons has media related to Ford Building (Detroit).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

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Physical Description

From Wikipedia

Building Details

David Whitney Building

Dime Building