Executive Committee Meeting 10-15-24

President's Report

Page 27 of 95

EXPLORE DETROIT

DOWNTOWN

Beyond Campus Martius Park, the most commercial stretch of Woodward Avenue begins. Shinola Hotel F6 1400 Woodward Ave - DPM Broadway. T Addresses. 1915, Wirt C. Rowland. The hotel occupies a building a designed by the architect of the Guardian Building for the major hardware company T.B. Rayl & Co. Its facade – adorned with diamond-pointed geometric patterns and Venetian-inspired tall windows on the top floor – is particularly striking. Parker’s Alley - Bustling with shops and bars, this shopping street has been refurbished to the rear of the building. The whole block has thus

skyscraper, the Hammond Building (1889). Formerly known as Chase Tower, it now houses the offices of various firms, including Chase and Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans), one of the country’s leading real estate credit institutions, which, under the leadership of Dan Gilbert ( T see box below) , played an active part in the revival of business in Detroit from the 2010s on. One Campus Martius FG6 On the other side of Campus facade. The building was erected at the site of Kern’s department store (demolished in the 1960s), whose clock is still visible at the corner of Woodward Ave and Gratiot Ave. Enter the atrium to admire the incredible fountain , or more precisely an indoor waterfall, composed of colored glass sculptures and offering a profusion of colors and light. It was created by Wet Design, who also came up with the fountain at Detroit Airport’s McNamara terminal. Martius Park, this structure is recognizable by its pentagonal shape and its glass and granite

A Newcomer to Woodward Avenue Between 1883 and 1981, the J. L. Hudson department store, commonly known as Hudson’s , was located on the 1200 block of Woodward Avenue. Considered the largest store in the country, just after Macy’s in New York, it had no fewer than 12,000 employees–including a certain Diana Ross at one time–, 100,000 daily sales on average, 705 fitting rooms, 68 elevators, 48 escalators, a library, 5 restaurants, a laundry service, a fleet of 300 trucks with 500 drivers for making deliveries, a particularly generous after-sales service, 49 display windows around the exterior, and the world’s largest flag, raised every year on its facade to mark the 1918 armistice. A place of superlatives, Hudson’s also opened branches in the suburbs, but as times and customs changed, the store was forced to close in the early 1980s. The company’s offices continued to occupy the Chicago style building (1911), which was eventually demolished in 1998. Nature abhorring a vacuum, a new building is slated to open its doors in 2025. Yet another venture and surefire success for billionaire Dan Gilbert and Bedrock ( T see box, right page) . The tower will feature offices, a hotel, retail, and a rooftop that promises to be spectacular. Occupants will include the headquarters of General Motors, which will vacate RenCen.

been revitalized. L. B. King & Company Building a F6 1274 Library St

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the architect who would later go on to design the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Campus Martius Park FG6-7 In the heart of Downtown, the Michigan Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument , sculpted in 1867, honors the memory of the victims of the American Civil War. In winter, a giant ice rink is erected here, even bigger than the one at the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan! In summer, sand and deckchairs take the place of ice and skates. The Qube FG7 1959, Albert Kahn Associates. On the corner of Campus Martius Park and Woodward Ave, this 14-story modernist marble-clad building was erected on the spot of the city’s first

The Spirit of Detroit a G7 Outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center , an

International-style building (1954 - 2 Woodward Ave ) that houses the municipal government offices, stands an 8-meter-tall bronze statue by sculptor Marshall Fredericks (1958). A symbol of the city, the Jolly Green Giant , as it is affectionately known due to its color and size, holds in its left hand a sphere emanating rays to symbolize God and in its right hand a figure embodying human relationships. You may see the “Spirit of Detroit” wearing a jersey of one of the local sports teams to celebrate a championship win. Just opposite, the bright and airy One Woodward building (1963), another example of the International style, was designed by Minoru Yamasaki,

At the corner of the Shinola Hotel, Grand River Ave, perpendicular to Woodward, leads to this block built in 1911, whose facade, covered in white tile cladding with green highlights,

The Ubiquitous Bedrock It's not uncommon to see a plaque in the name of Bedrock on brand-new or magnificently restored buildings in Detroit, a company without which none of Detroit's recent revival would have been possible. Founded in 2011, this branch of the empire founded by billionaire philanthropist Daniel Gilbert specializes in real estate. It has bought or helped refurbish historic buildings, including the Book Tower, Chase Tower (The Qube), One Woodward Avenue, David Stott Building, Chrysler House, Hudson’s, and now the Renaissance Center, to name a few of the biggest. Bedrock has worked too on smaller structures that have become retail sites. bedrockdetroit.com T p. 134.