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Scarab Club
GeotaggedNational Register
Historic Photo from NRHP Filing
The Scarab Club of Detroit 217 Farnsworth, Detroit, Wayne Co., Mi. PHOTOGRAPHER: Leslie J. Vollmert DATE: June, 1979 NEGATIVE: Michigan History Division VIEW: Facade, looking north. PHOTO #: 1 of 2 NOV 20, 1979 OCT 3 1979
National Register of Historic Places Filing
Local SignificanceArchitectureArtSculpture1900-
The Scarab Club is significant for its historical role in the art community of Detroit and for its unique architectural character. The Scarab Club started around 1909 as the Hopkin Club honoring Robert Hopkin famous Detroit artist of the latter 19th and early 20th century. When Mr. Hopkin died in 1909, the name was changed to the Scarab Club. The organization took an increasingly important role in the art and cultural life of the community. The club founded the first Michigan Artists Exhibition in 1911 and sponsored it until 1928 when it was taken over by the Detroit Institute of Arts. During its entire life, but especially since the Club opened its present clubhouse in 1928, it has been the scene of all types of art exhibitions featuring every sort of media. Although many of the exhibitions have been sponsored by the club itself, some have had the sponsorship of a wide variety of community art groups who have no other place to present their exhibitions. The Club also sponsors social events which are open to non-members. The most famous of these entertainments has been the Scarab Ball which was a major social event in Detroit during the first third of the century. Such Detroit social notables as General Knudson, the Edsel Fords, the Fred Algers, the Horace Dodges, the Ralph Booths and others patronized these lavish masquerade beaux-arts balls. Although some of the Scarab Balls were held at outside ballrooms or hotels, many were held at the clubhouse which was suitably decorated for the occasion. The Scarab Club continues to play a vital role in the art and cultural life of the greater Detroit community. It is truly the focal point for organized artists' activities. Its clubhouse is located in the heart of the Cultural Center: just east of the Detroit Institute of Arts, south of the new Center for Creative Studies and just north of the Detroit Science Center. The Scarab Club is also important as an accomplished example of the eclectic architecture of the early twentieth century. The architect for the Scarab Club, Lancelot Sukert, was born in Detroit in 1888 and died in 1966. He studied architecture at the University of California, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania. During World War I he was a First Lieutenant in the aviation section of the Signal Corps and erected airdromes at the front. He worked two years in the office of Albert Kahn before starting his own practice. The Scarab Club is an interesting building reflecting the severe, brick, Renaissance Revival architecture popular in northern Europe in the first decades of the 20th Century. It is virtually unique in Detroit. Lancelot Sukert was quick to take advantage of the opportunity to design a strikingly different structure for his aesthetically minded, but budget conscious, clients. The powerfully composed facade with its sparing use of ornament and bold massing executed entirely in brick is a skillful blend of the artistic and functional. The interior reflects the fading 'Arts and Crafts' movement in its handcrafted coziness. Dark woodwork, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, wood carving, leaded-glass and hand-forged metalwork, all executed in motifs alluding to the arts, provide the homey, aesthetic ambience appropriate to a combination studio and clubhouse. The significance of the structure is enhanced by its pristine condition and its continued use by the organization it was originally designed for.
Physical Description
The Scarab Club constructed its present facility in 1928 after being quartered in various other locations since 1909. The building was specifically designed to accommodate the functions of the artists' society it still houses. There have been no major alterations made to the interior or exterior of the building since its completion. The Scarab Club is a brick, rectangular, flat-roofed, three-story structure with a high basement. The only significant elevation faces Farnsworth Avenue. Originally the building was closely abutted on both sides by the large houses that comprised this elegant, upper-class, late Victorian residential area behind the Detroit Institute of Arts. Since the 1920s, the neighboring houses have been replaced by parking lots and a filling station with the result that the blank sidewalls are now exposed to view. The facade is a severely restrained, asymmetrical, abstract composition executed entirely in reddish brick laid in ornamental contrasting patterns. The first level contains only a recessed doorway sheltered by a modern canvas awning and a band of brick laid in a chevron pattern indicating the level of the raised first floor. The upper part of the first story is accented by a band of nine, small, square, grilled panels. At the second and third stories, three large tripartite, leaded-glass windows with gauged brickwork mullions are inset between brick piers with terra cotta tile caps. At the roofline is a false, steeply-pitched, parapet roof. The most distinctive feature of the facade is the club's insignia, a large ceramic scarab medallion at the third floor level executed at the locally famous Pewabic Pottery by Mary and William Chase Stratton. In 1976, a large, sheet copper sculpture by club member Steve Veresh was installed on the blank west wall. The interior contains four floors. The simply finished basement is used for sketch classes, crafts and as a ballroom. The first floor contains offices and a gallery. The second floor includes a cloakroom, dining room, lounge and kitchen. The third floor is divided into six large studios with interior balconies. Throughout, the handcrafted detailing reflects the 'Arts and Crafts' period in its dark wood trim, beamed ceilings, carved reliefs, stained glass panels and hand-wrought chandeliers.
Architect/Builder
Lancelot Sukert, Arch.
NRHP Ref# 79001176 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Historical Photos
(2)The Scarab Club of Detroit 217 Farnsworth, Detroit, Wayne Co., Mi. PHOTOGRAPHER: Leslie J. Vollmert DATE: June, 1979 NEGATIVE: Michigan History Division VIEW: Facade, looking north. PHOTO #: 1 of 2 NOV 20, 1979 OCT 3 1979
Public Domain (Michigan Filing)
From Wikipedia
This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)The Scarab Club (commonly referred to as Historic Scarab Club of Detroit) is an artists' club, gallery, and studio in the Cultural Center Historic District of Detroit, Michigan, located at 217 Farnsworth Street, near the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Science Center. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Scarab Club was formed in 1907. It began as an informal association named the Hopkin Club after the founder, marine painter Robert Hopkin. The members met regularly to talk art, eat dinner, and critique paintings. The club's vision since inception was"to promote the mutual acquaintance of art lovers and art workers; to stimulate and guide toward practical expression the artistic sense of the people of Detroit; to advance the knowledge and love of the fine arts in every possible manner; and to maintain a clubhouse for entertainment and social purposes as well as to provide working and exhibit facilities for artist members."Renamed the "Scarab Club" in 1913, the club grew in popularity, and member Lancelot Sukert, a Detroit architect, designed the current clubhouse, which opened its doors on October 5, 1928. The interior of the club is decorated with objets d'art created and contributed by members over the decades. The building showcases exquisite tile sculptures from Pewabic Pottery, including the Scarab Club logo. The ceiling beams of the lounge once served as the club's guest book, and poet Vachel Lindsay signed as one of the first visitors. Since then, signing the beam has become a ceremonial honor, and the autographs of artists including John Sloan, Diego Rivera, Pablo Davis, Marcel Duchamp, Norman Rockwell, and John Sinclair appear on the beams.American artist, inventor, and automobile pioneer George Schuyler Hodges, of Pontiac, Michigan, was a charter member of the club.The club's themed costumed balls, held from 1917 to 1950,[citation needed] were the single most important social event in Detroit each year.[citation needed] Life magazine covered the 1937 event with a two-page photo spread, and The Detroit News and The Detroit Free Press also gave the annual balls two pages in their photo sections.[citation needed] Radio station WJR broadcast live from the 1937 "Scarabean Cruise" ball.[citation needed]For many years The Book Club of Detroit held its regular meetings at the Scarab Club.The annual Exhibition of Michigan Artists at the Detroit Institute of Arts was originated by the Scarab Club in 1911.[citation needed] In 1915 the Scarab Club Prize became the top award and in 1917 the first Scarab Club Gold Medal was awarded.[citation needed] The gold medal is still the club's most prestigious award, given each December at the Gold Medal Exhibition and Dinner.This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The clubhouse was built in 1928 in the Arts and Crafts style by architect and member Lancelot Sukert. The exterior mosaic tiles, which appeared in 1928 renderings, were not completed until the 1980s, when they were finished by W.P.A. muralist and member Edgar Yaeger, who was a junior member of the club in 1928. The ceramic scarab embedded over the front entrance was designed by sculptor Horace Colby and fired at Pewabic Pottery.The original paneled wood entry in the front hints at intrigue inside, while a brick-walled courtyard in the rear of the building conjures up more pastoral images, with its exquisite flower gardens, fountain and statuary. The club contains several galleries and lounges, as well as six working artist studios. The second floor lounge is unique for its massive ceiling beams painted by members in 1928 and signed by more than 230 artists since, including Diego Rivera, Norman Rockwell, Marshall Fredericks and Pablo Davis. Other beams were painted to depict events in the club's history. The lounge also contains a fireplace with mural depicting different levels of club membership, painted by Paul Honoré. Original mica and metal lighting and furnishings complete the decor.• Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scarab Club.• The Scarab ClubHospitals • Detroit Medical Center Children's Hospital of Michigan• Detroit Receiving Hospital• Harper University Hospital• Hutzel Women's HospitalMuseums • Detroit Historical Museum• Detroit Institute of Arts• Michigan Science Center• Charles H. Wright Museum of African American HistoryClubs • Detroit Masonic Temple• Scarab ClubResidencesReligion • Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church• Cathedral Church of St. Paul• Chapel of St. Theresa-the Little Flower• First Congregational Church• First Presbyterian Church• First Unitarian Church of Detroit• Saint Andrew's Memorial Episcopal Church• Temple Beth-ElUtility buildings • Willis Avenue StationCommercial buildings • Architects Building• Cass Motor Sales• Detroit-Columbia Central Office Building• Graybar Electric Company Building• Russell Industrial CenterPublic facilities • Dunbar Hospital• Majestic Theater• Garden Bowl• Orchestra Hall• Little Caesars ArenaThis list is incomplete.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
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
Building Details
- Architect
- Lancelot Sukert
- Year Built
- 1928
- Style
- romantic
- Building Type
- club
- National Register
- Listed
- Ref# 79001176
