Palms Block, Gordon W. Lloyd

The Palms is a relatively early and extremely significant building in the career of its architect, Albert Kahn. It marks the beginning of his use of steel-reinforced concrete, a technique which he later perfected in his greatest industrial structures. Kahn, then in partnership with George D. Mason, used reinforced concrete for the floors in the Palms while the walls were constructed of load-bearing masonry.

Though Europeans such as Francois Hennebique and Auguste Perret had achieved some success with reinforced concrete about the same time as the construction of The Palms, the use of the new material was still highly experimental. Albert Kahn's brother, Julius, Chief Engineer for his brother during construction of The Palms, was shortly thereafter to develop a precise, scientific system of reinforcing concrete--the later famous 'Kahn System.' After the construction of The Palms, Julius Kahn organized the Concrete Steel Company of Detroit (later to become the Truscon Steel Company, and ultimately absorbed by the Republic Steel Company of Cleveland) to manufacture the steel components for use in the 'Kahn System.' Two years after The Palms was completed, Kahn's design for the Packard Motor Car Company--Detroit's first building with a reinforced concrete structure--was erected. The Palms was named for Francis Palms, son-in-law of Joseph Campau. Campau was a powerful real estate speculator who was responsible for much of Jefferson Avenue's late nineteenth-century development.

Palms was one of the chief investors in the apartment building and had resided not far away on East Jefferson Avenue.

The Palms is a six-story apartment building located at the northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Rivard Street. The building is U-shaped in plan, with wings extending on the rear side, and has irregular-coursed, rough-face limestone facades. The front (southeast) facade has a central entrance with classical surrounds. With its engaged, octagonal corner towers, four-story bay window above the entrance, belt courses and roof balustrade, the facade treatment is primarily English Renaissance in style.

The lot on which the Palms is located slopes downward toward Larned Avenue at the rear causing the high basement, visible on the front facade, to become a fully exposed story on the rear facade. The Palms was an early luxury apartment building and it remained an elegant residence until the 1930s. Inside the main entrance, a partial flight of stairs leads to the stairwell and elevator lobby; these spaces are decorated with elaborate plaster ceilings. The apartments contain much of their original detail; paneling, fireplaces, carved woodwork, etc.

Originally, the apartments in the wings were very large and those in the front portion of the building somewhat smaller. During the Great Depression, economic conditions caused the apartments to be subdivided. Now there are about fifty units in the building, and though they are smaller than original apartments, the subdivision caused minimal damage to the building's important interior fixtures. Exterior changes have been minimal.

Several windows were added to the side facades to accommodate the subdivision of apartments.