2900 Slaughter House

This 3 story, 60,000 square foot structure was built in 1920 and originally served as an industrial distribution warehouse. A now defunct tannery operated across the street. The Thorn Apple Valley Inc. meatpacking company ran an operation from this facility till 1998.

The exterior is composed of unadorned red brick typical of industrial warehouse construction during the 1920’s. Large graffiti pieces adorned the outer walls above several loading dock bays. It rained the the night before so water was dripping through the leaky roof. Pipes and boilers were The only remaining artifacts of interest.

Koenig Coal Silos (Detroit, MI)

Koenig Coal Coal Yard silos were built in the 1920’s. Koenig Coal was established in 1870 and were dealers that sold coal and wood. They had two office locations in Detroit (circa 1878). The 362 Atwater Street location contained a dock and the 368 Gratoit Ave location contained a coal and wood yard.

An artificial valley was used by trains running through the Milwaukee Junction. Train tracks have been removed and the area is a well known area for graffiti murals. There are always a few outstanding pieces to see and they get replaced regularly.

Reference

A61 Archive

The CPA building has a Flatiron design and is located in Detroit’s Corktown area. Entrances are surrounded by ornate relief’s depicting various railroad related scenes. A large clock has stopped working , It’s hands frozen permanently at 10;45.  A drive through window contained panels where window attendants or ATM machines may have been.

It turns out that the CPA is an acronym for Conductors Protective Association, a union organization. I learned the following information about the company (*1) “Mr. William Boss conceived the idea of forming an insurance company for railroad conductors, engineers and officials, insuring them against the loss of their positions on account of discharge, disability or old age, and in June, 1907, organized the Conductors Protective Assurance Company”

References

www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM56X2_CPA_Building_Detroit_M…

books.google.com/books?id=OZYUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA266&l…

(*1) The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922 by Clarence Monroe Burton, William Stocking, Gordon K. Miller. Published by The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1922. Item notes: v. 4. Original from Harvard University

A46-4 archive

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon at the Don Valley Brick Works. A few people walked their dogs as some wetland birds earnestly called out to each other. An earlier expedition contains information on the history of this site.

Inside the Brick Works subdued shafts of light illuminated the interior like a cathedral of industry. Amongst a row of old kilns, a Parkhill Martin brick machine lay silent as it’s rusted metal surface gleamed in the evening light. It was manufactured by G. Baird, Son & Co. and built in Parkhill Toronto. This soft mud brick machine was placed in the Brickworks after 1956.

Evergreen started renovations at the Brick Works in 2009. Several of Toronto’s landmarks were built from bricks made at this factory. Restoration of this site will leave a piece of Toronto’s history intact.

References

(*1)
Rick McGinnis, Don Valley’s Abandoned Brick Works Finally Coming Back To Life, October 8, 2009
www.blogto.com/city/2009/10/

Evergreen Brick Works
ebw.evergreen.ca/

Reference

A60-1 Archive

Brush Park is a 24 block neighborhood east of Woodward Avenue. Mansions and houses are built in the Late Victorian, Empire and Mansard Roof styles. This area is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, however many buildings have been demolished due to advanced neglect, decay and structural damage. Brush Park was an area which housed Detroit’s wealthy elites until the area’s decline during the Great Depression. Restoration efforts after the 1990′s eventually led to successful renovations of several Brush Park mansions. New townhouses and apartments were also built in the surrounding area.

This area is generally quiet unless there’s a Tigers baseball game or large scale event downtown. A strange gathering of  large Victorian mansions are unevenly scattered amongst empty lots. Plots of land between houses had more in common with prairie fields as giant fluffy clouds hovered over the landscape like impossible castles in the sky.

Reference

A59-2 Archive

Somewhere on the west side is this school and it has seen better times. The steady hum of traffic permeates the open windows devoid of glass. Inside is still and timeless as the entire site gradually falls into ruin.

The Bright Center For Continuing Education was formerly known as the Willard School to honor Frances Willard (educator, temperance reformer and women’s suffragist). A dedication plaque inside the building confirms this. This facility closed in the early 2000’s.

Reference

A59-2 Archive

1)The N.B.C building is a seven story fortress like warehouse. This Chicago School style building consists of a concrete structure with a brick facade, and accented by applied masonry. At first the only information available was that it was a bakery before WWII.

After some research a source clarified more details about the building. Apparently the National Biscuit Co. eventually became known as Nabisco during World War I. Quotes from an article by Lu Donnelly for the Young Preservationists Association address the history, function and design of the N.B.C buildings:

(2) “The success of Nabisco’s branding and advertising caused demand to exceed supply and the company launched a building campaign to provide enough bakeries for their popular crackers. The buildings commissioned by now company president Adolphus Green were different from the common manufacturing buildings of the World War I era. Green hired an architect full-time to design factories that would have enough style and dignity to inspire loyalty from the workers and act as shining models of modernity to the communities in which they stood (Cahn, 125). He hired Chicagoan Albert G. Zimmermann (1866-1947) to design the buildings using a soft colored brownish-orange brick with cream-colored brick trim and ranging from three to eleven stories. Zimmermann’s earlier practice had consisted mostly of residences and apartment buildings until his work for Nabisco. His Nabisco designs were featured in the American Architect magazine in both 1912 and 1916.”

Another excerpt from the article indicates when the Detroit N.B.C building was built.

(3) “After the war, between 1918 and 1925 new bakeries were built in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The new factories had a consistent look, similar reddish brick, multiple stories and stair towers increased the company’s ability to transport products to the grocer and people’s homes. (Cahn, 196)”

N.B.C is located in Detroit’s New Center area and seems to have been abandoned for some time. N.B.C’s close proximity to the railways may have given the company a competitive edge in product distribution to major areas of the American Market.

References
(1) www.emporis.com

(2)(3) Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh. National Biscuit Company Bakery Historic Nomination, Lu Donnelly for the Young Preservationists Association, Page 3,4

74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:OOPTiGRFGC4J:www.youngpreser…

Sources

The American Architect, “The Buildings of the National Biscuit Company,” by W. F. Wilmoth, Volume 101, June 19, 1912, part 2 number 1904, pp. 270-272.

The American Architect, “Building for the National Biscuit Company,” Volume 109, March 22, 1916, part 1, number 2100.

The Builders’ Bulletin, Volume 1, #37 (Supplement) , May 12, 1917: Building Permit issued “National
Biscuit Co., Owners; Turner Construction Co., Contractors; Foundation, Penn & Lambert St., 12 Ward.”
Other relevant issues 1917-1919.

Cahn, William, Out of the Cracker Barrel: The Nabisco Story From Animal Crackers to Zu Zu’s. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1969.

A59-2 Archive

Forest Arms apartments was built in 1905, a corner stone beside the front entrance verifies this date. This stately Victorian era building is similar to other residences near the Wayne State University campus. (*1) On February 6, a major fire destroyed the entire site. Forest Arms has no roof or top floor.

This building has a striking design and stands out. Unfortunately its windows are gaping portals to the sky instead of apartments.

References

(*1)
Benefit raises over $6,000 for Forest Arms Disaster Relief Effort
media.wayne.edu/2008/02/14/benefit-raises-over-6000-for-f…

Update: Forest Arms Apartments hosted an interesting experiment.

A59-2 Archive

The Film Exchange Building was designed by architect, Charles Howard Crane. This seven story structure was built in 1926 to safely store volatile and flammable nitrate films. The interior houses several vaults for film storage. A relief above the front door gives a hint to the buildings previous function. Orange panels placed vertically between windows, serve as the only distraction in its monotonous exterior. This building closed the 1970’s.

There have been renovations at the site for the last five years but no occupants taking up permanent residence.

Reference

A59-1 Archive

David Whitney Building

The David Whitney Building was built in 1916, designed by Daniel Burnhan and located in the Grand Circus Park area. It is designed in the Chicago style with classical elements. David Whitney was a businessman who supplied lumber to builders and industrial suppliers. His son David Charles Whitney commissioned Daniel Burnhan to build the 19 story office building to replace an earlier 5 story commercial structure. The building has remained abandoned since the 1980’s.

David Broderick Building, Eaton Tower (Detroit, MI)

Eaton Tower had its name was changed to the David Broderick Tower in the 1945. Louis Kamper designed the 34 story office tower and it was built in 1927. The buildings design is a mixture of Beaux Art and Chicago School styles. The building closed in 1985 leaving a bar on the first floor as the only tenant. The building is currently owned by (*1) Motown Construction Partners LP.

References

(*1) brodericktower.com

http://detroit1701.org/

Reference

A59-1 Archive

Detroit Free Press was designed by Albert Kahn and built by the Spencer White and Prentice firm, in 1925. Detroit Free Press is located on W Lafayette in downtown Detroit. Elaborate ornamentation on the exterior of the building has more in common with church design than commercial establishments.

This limestone covered building has a 14 story center tower which is flanked by 6 story wings. Carvings, statues and and building materials used can be found in structures influenced by Art Deco and Beaux Arts design. Classical elements give the building a stately appearane as two goddesses of commerce and communication gaurd the main enrtance . Ulysses Ricci carved several reliefs: Benjamin Franklin, Govenor Lewis Cass, Govenor Austin Blair, General George Custer, James Angel and journaists Horace Greely, CHarles Dana and George Goodale adorn the front of the building. His designs graced other buildings such as the General Motors Building and the Fisher Tower located in Detroit’s New Center Area.

Detroit Free Press abandoned the building in 1996 and the site remains unoccupied in 2009

References

Detroit1701.org

A58-1, A59-1 Archives