Michigan Bell Telephone Co. Addition

The former Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is significant under national register criterion A for its role in the distribution of telephone and communication supplies and re-manufacturing of telephone equipment in Michigan. The period of significance is from the time of the building's construction beginning in 1929 until 1958 when the operations moved to Plymouth. It is significant under criterion C for its Art Deco architecture and design by noted Detroit architects Smith, Hinchman and Grylls.

The twelve-story, Art Deco former Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is faced with varied, buff-colored brick with limestone trim and buff colored terra cotta accent panels. It is located on the northeast corner of Oakman Boulevard and Woodrow Wilson Avenue in northwest Detroit, less than one block west of the Highland Park border and approximately six miles northwest of downtown Detroit. The building faces south. The neighborhood was developed in the 1920s, with some houses, but then became industrial with manufacturing facilities constructed along Oakman Boulevard between Hamilton and Linwood Avenues.

Many of the factories and houses previously in the area have been demolished, leaving large areas of vacant land in the surrounding area. The depressed Lodge Freeway was constructed just to the west of the building in the 1950s, giving dramatic views of the building to northbound drivers. The site is flat with an abandoned railroad right-of-way running along the north boundary of the site.