Detroit Statler Hotel

Last updated

Detroit Statler Hotel
StatlerDetroit.jpg
Detroit Statler Hotel, c. 1915
Detroit Statler Hotel
General information
StatusDemolished
TypeHotel
Location1539 Washington Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°20′08″N83°03′06″W / 42.33542°N 83.05159°W / 42.33542; -83.05159
Construction started1914
Completed1915
OpeningFebruary 6, 1915
ClosedOctober 15, 1975
Demolished2005
Cost US$ 3.5 million
Height
Roof70.7 m (232 ft)
Technical details
Floor count18
Floor area47,845 m2 (515,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s) George B. Post

The Detroit Statler Hotel (also known as the Detroit Hilton Hotel) was a building located at 1539 Washington Boulevard across from Grand Circus Park between the David Whitney Building and the Hotel Tuller in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. In addition to Washington Boulevard, the hotel also fronted Bagley Street and Park Avenue.

Contents

History

The Hotel Statler was designed for Statler Hotels by George B. Post and Louis Rorimer in the Georgian architectural style, with English Renaissance Revival roots evident. [1] It consisted of 18 floors: sixteen above grade and two basement floors. Construction began on the original 800-room portion in 1914 and was completed in 1915. [2]

Harry Houdini stayed at the hotel in October 1926, during his last engagement at the nearby Garrick Theater.

The Statler chain was purchased by Hilton Hotels in 1954. The Hotel Statler was renamed the Statler Hilton in 1958 and then later the Detroit Hilton. Hilton proceeded to remodel and modernize the hotel's interior during the 1960s. In 1974, Hilton ceased their management, and the structure was renamed the Detroit Heritage Hotel until it was abandoned in 1975.

After sitting vacant for 30 years, the structure was eventually demolished following approval by the Detroit Historic District Commission. Demolition of the building floor by floor began in August 2005 and was completed in time for the Super Bowl XL; [2] the process took months due to the hotel's strong concrete structure. During the demolition process, a vacant four-story building once occupied by the Automobile Club of Michigan also known as the DAIIE (Detroit Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange) building on a neighboring lot caught fire. The fire destroyed much of the structure's roof and upper floor. The cause of the blaze was determined to be hot metal material that had been dropped from the Statler Hotel onto the Automobile Club building's roof. The building's structure required the onsite treatment of 750,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated water following demolition.

Vacant lot where the Detroit Statler Hotel once stood Vacant lot of old Statler.jpg
Vacant lot where the Detroit Statler Hotel once stood

Site redevelopment

On March 26, 2014, a 200-250 unit apartment building was announced to be built on the former site of the Statler Hotel. At the time of its proposal, this building would have been one of the first entirely newly constructed apartments in downtown Detroit since the early 1990s (excluding apartments built from converted offices). In October 2017, the newly branded, seven story City Club Apartments CBD Detroit broke ground, developed by City Club Apartments LLC. [3] Upon its completion in June of 2021, the building had 288 apartments and 13,000 square feet of retail space. Its tenants include Premier Pet Supply and the Statler Bistro, an homage to the former hotel. [4]

Facts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ally Detroit Center</span> Skyscraper in Detroit

Ally Detroit Center, formerly One Detroit Center, is a skyscraper and class-A office building located in Downtown Detroit, overlooking the Detroit Financial District. Rising 619 feet (189 m), the 43-story tower is the tallest office building in Michigan and the second tallest building overall in the state behind the central hotel tower of the Renaissance Center, located a few blocks away. Although the Penobscot Building has more floors above ground (45), those of Ally Detroit Center are taller, with its roof sitting roughly 60 feet (18 m) taller than that of the Penobscot. It has a floor area of 1,674,708 sq ft (155,585.5 m2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Circus Park Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

The Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Grand Circus Park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial district. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, and is roughly bounded by Clifford, John R. and Adams Streets. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The building at 25 West Elizabeth Street was added to the district in 2000, and additional structures located within the district, but built between 1932 and 1960, were approved for inclusion in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Whitney Building</span> Residential/hotel in Detroit, Michigan

The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper located at 1 Park Avenue, on the northern edge of Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The building stands on a wedge-shaped site at the junction of Park Avenue, Woodward Avenue, and Washington Boulevard. Construction on the 19-floor structure began in 1914.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westin Book Cadillac Hotel</span> Skyscraper in Detroit

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit is a historic skyscraper hotel in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Washington Boulevard Historic District. Designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and opened as the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 1924, the 349 ft (106 m), 31-story, 453-room hotel includes 65 exclusive luxury condominiums and penthouses on the top eight floors. It reopened in October 2008, managed by Westin Hotels, after a $200-million restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1300 Lafayette East Cooperative</span> Skyscraper in Detroit

The 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative is a large, 336 unit luxury housing cooperative in the Lafayette Park neighborhood of the near-east side of Detroit, Michigan. The building is notable for its address "1300" displayed in giant numerals on the North and South sides of the roof which are visible for miles in Detroit and Windsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Free Press Building</span> Commercial offices in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Free Press Building is an office building designed by Albert Kahn Associates in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Construction began in 1924 and was completed in 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kales Building</span> Residential in Detroit, Michigan

The Kales Building is a high-rise apartment building in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located 76 West Adams at the northeast corner of Adams Avenue West and Park Avenue, across from Grand Circus Park, in the Foxtown neighborhood, just north of Downtown. The building was designed by Albert Kahn and constructed in 1914, and stands at 18 floors, with one basement floor, for a total of 19 floors in height. It was originally named the Kresge Building and it was given its current name in 1930. Kahn went beyond the typical Chicago School and styled the Kales Building with a clean-lined detail façade with Neo-classical and Renaissance revival elements such as the hipped roof and arched upper windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Park Centre</span> Building in Detroit

Grand Park Centre, also known as the Michigan Mutual Building, is a high-rise office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located at 28 West Adams Avenue, at the corner of Adams Avenue West and Woodward Avenue, standing across from Grand Circus Park in the Foxtown neighbourhood. Nearby buildings and attractions are Grand Circus Park, Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Dime Building, and Campus Martius Park. The building is a part of the Michigan Mutual Liability Company Complex, with the Michigan Mutual Liability Annex. The building is located in the Foxtown neighborhood of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Washington Plaza</span> Office in Detroit, Michigan

Fort Washington Plaza is located at the corner of West Fort Street and Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It occupies the entire block bordered by West Fort Street, Washington Boulevard, Cass Avenue, and West Congress Street. The high-rise office building stands 16 stories in height. It was built in 1969, and includes a parking garage. It was designed in the international architectural style. It uses mainly concrete and glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafayette Building (Detroit)</span> Building in Michigan, United States

The Lafayette Building was a high-rise office building located at 144 West Lafayette Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1923 and occupied a triangular lot, bordered by Michigan Avenue, West Lafayette Boulevard, and Shelby Street. The building was 14 floors tall, with one basement floor, and 13 above-ground floors. The office building was designed in the neo-classical architecture style by C. Howard Crane who built many of Detroit's theaters. It is built with mainly brick, limestone, and terra cotta. Its triangular form mimicked the Flatiron Building in Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Building</span> Skyscraper in Detroit

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Building is a skyscraper located at 600 East Lafayette Boulevard in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, near the Renaissance Center complex. It is also known as the Blue Cross Blue Shield Service Center. It was constructed in 1971, and stands at 22 floors. The building was constructed in a sunken plaza. It houses Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. The campus in downtown Detroit also includes offices for 3,000 employees at Towers 500 and 600 of the Renaissance Center linked by the Detroit People Mover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial Building (Detroit)</span> High-rise building in downtown Detroit, Michigan

The Industrial Building is a high-rise building located at 1410 Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Washington Boulevard Historic District. It occupies the northeast corner on Grand River Avenue and Washington Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit City Apartments</span> Residential in Michigan, United States

Detroit City Apartments is a high-rise in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Built in 1981 and named Trolley Plaza for nearby Washington Boulevard trolley line, the residential building stands 28 stories tall. The building is located at 1431 Washington Boulevard and occupies the block bordered by Clifford Street, Grand River Avenue and Washington Boulevard. In 2009, Village Green purchased the building and changed the name of the high-rise apartments to Washington Square. In 2013, Washington Square became the Detroit City Apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Boulevard Building</span> United States historic place

The Washington Boulevard Building is a high-rise apartment building located at 234 State Street at the corner of State Street and Washington Boulevard in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The building, designed by Louis Kamper, was constructed from 1922 to 1923. It stands at 23 stories, and features a neoclassical limestone base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fyfe Building</span> Residential in Detroit, Michigan

The Fyfe Building is located at 10 West Adams Street, at the corner of Adams Street and Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It faces onto Central United Methodist Church, and Grand Circus Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Boulevard Historic District</span> Historic district in Michigan, United States

Washington Boulevard Historic District is a multi-block area of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It consists of structures facing Washington Boulevard between State and Clifford Streets. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Book-Cadillac Hotel, the Book Tower, the Industrial Building, and Detroit City Apartments among other architecturally significant buildings. Washington Boulevard is one of the city's main boulevards and part of Augustus Woodward's 1807-design for the city. Because Woodward's plan was never completed, the boulevard contains a sharp curve south of Michigan Avenue where it was connected to an existing street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright–Kay Building</span> Building

The Wright–Kay Building, originally known as the Schwankovsky Temple of Music, is one of the oldest buildings in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at 1500 Woodward Avenue, at the corner of Woodward and John R. Street, in proximity to the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District. The building was listed on the State of Michigan's Historical Register in 1980 as #P25241.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Plaza (Detroit)</span> United States historic place

The Lee Plaza is a vacant 16-story high-rise apartment building located at 2240 West Grand Boulevard, about one mile west of New Center along West Grand Boulevard, an area in Detroit, Michigan. It is a registered historic site by the state of Michigan and was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on November 5, 1981. Designed by Charles Noble and constructed in 1929, it rises to 16 floors and is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture of the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmonie Club (Detroit, Michigan)</span> United States historic place

The Harmonie Club is a club located at 267 East Grand River Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Statler Hotel & Residences</span> United States historic center

The Statler Hotel & Residences is a hotel of mid-twentieth century design located at 1914 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). It is located on the edge of the Farmers Market District and adjacent to Main Street Garden Park. The hotel opened in 1956 as The Statler Hilton and was praised as the first modern American hotel and was designed by William B. Tabler. Later renamed the Dallas Grand Hotel, it closed in 2001, then was restored and reopened in 2017. It is currently a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

References

  1. 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. P. 68.
  2. 1 2 Statler Hotel. Historic Detroit. Retrieved on December 9, 2013.
  3. "City Club Apartments set to begin construction at former Statler Hotel site". October 17, 2017.
  4. "City Club Apartments Opens in Downtown Detroit, Overlooks Grand Circus Park". June 21, 2021.
  5. "Statler Hilton Hotel - Total Demolition" (PDF). homrichinc.com. Homrich Demolition. Retrieved September 23, 2013.

Further reading