The Kean

The Kean is significant for its outstanding Art Deco-inspired design. The building was designed by architect Charles Nobel and was completed in 1931. The Kean is visually outstanding among structures on East Jefferson Avenue and among Detroit skyscrapers in general. Its completion coincides with the end of large-scale residential development along East Jefferson Avenue.

Located next to the Hibbard Apartments, The Kean faces southeast inward East Jefferson Avenue. It is sixteen stories in height and contains fifty apartments. This eclectic structure is essentially Art Deco in style, but contains Romanesque elements. Notable features are the bright orange terra cotta entranceway with its coffered, arched opening, Corinthian columns, and medallions; the uninterrupted vertical surfaces, faced with brown brick, which use the full height of the building; the tiled, hipped roofs with dormers, pinnacles, and central chimneys; and the gargoyles which project from the upper stories.