- David Whitney Building
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"David Whitney" redirects here. For the David Whitney House, see David Whitney House.
David Whitney Building 
General information Type Office Architectural style Neo-Renaissance Location 1553 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan
United StatesCoordinates 42°20′8.5″N 83°3′1.5″W / 42.335694°N 83.050417°WCoordinates: 42°20′8.5″N 83°3′1.5″W / 42.335694°N 83.050417°W Completed 1915 Renovated 1959 Height Roof 272 ft (83 m) Technical details Floor count 19 Design and construction Architect Daniel Burnham David Whitney BuildingPart of: Grand Circus Park Historic District (#83000894) Designated CP: February 28, 1983 References [1] The David Whitney Building is a historic class-A skyscraper on the northern edge of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at 1553 Woodward Avenue, adjacent to Grand Circus Park. 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. It is currently unused and awaiting redevelopment.
It is named for David Whitney Jr., a wealthy Detroiter who earned millions of dollars as a lumber baron dealing in white pine; his father was said to be the employer of Paul Bunyan. Famed Chicago-architect Daniel Burnham designed the Whitney. Appropriately for Detroit, the exterior was originally styled with clean lines in a Neo-Renaissance style faced with terra cotta and glazed brick. The original facade was altered in 1959 when decorative cornices were replaced with a 'modern' top. The first four stories of this building contain a large retail atrium. It was one of Detroit's first major mixed-use projects and was a popular location for many medical offices. The Detroit People Mover's Grand Circus Park station is located at the first and second floors of this building.
It stands across Woodward Avenue from the David Broderick Tower. The building is visible from the Detroit People Mover, as well as Comerica Park. Together with the adjacent Broderick Tower, it forms a "gateway" of sorts to downtown Detroit when viewed from the north. The Metro Times, an early alternative weekly, once published from offices in the highrise. There are 19 floors housing office and retail space with a two-story mechanical penthouse at the rear of the building.
In January 2011, the Detroit Downtown Development Authority approved a $1 million loan to help Whitney Partners purchase and renovate the building. Their plan includes creating a mixed-use building and restoring the decorative exterior elements that were removed in 1959 and the four-story lobby. The partnership is still finalizing plans and financing for the project.[2]
Contents
Gallery
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David Broderick Tower (left) and the David Whitney Building line Grand Circus Park.
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Whitney Building prior to modernization (left) and Statler Hotel c. 1915
See also
- David Broderick Tower, a nearby building
- Grand Circus Park
- Detroit Statler Hotel, a former nearby building
- Urban development in Detroit
References and further reading
- ^ David Whitney Building at SkyscraperPage
- ^ John Gallagher (January 13, 2011). "DDA approves mixed-use plan to renovate the Whitney Building". Detroit Free Press (freep.com). http://www.freep.com/article/20110113/BUSINESS04/101130554/1322/DDA-approves-mixed-use-plan-to-renovate-Whitney-Building. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
- 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.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
- Moore, Charles (1921). Daniel H. Burnham, Architect, Planner of Cities, Volume 2. Houghton Mifflin.
- Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6.
- Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 0933691092.
External links
- Google Maps location of the David Whitney Building
- David Whitney Building at Emporis.com
- SkyscraperPage.com's profile on the David Whitney Building
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Category:National Register of Historic Places • 
Portal:National Register of Historic PlacesCategories:- Historic district contributing properties
- National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
- Unused buildings in Michigan
- Skyscrapers in Detroit, Michigan
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