GAR Building

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The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Building is a historic building in downtown Detroit. It was designed by architect Julian Hess, and constructed at 1942 West Grand River and Cass as an appropriate structure for meetings and other GAR related activities. The cost was split between the Grand Army of the Republic (who paid $6000 of the cost) and the city of Detroit (who paid the remainder of the $44,000 total cost). Construction commenced in 1887 and was completed in 1890. The building stands at 5 floors of height.

As GAR membership was restricted to veterans of the Civil War Union Army, their numbers dwindled through the beginning part of the 20th century. By the 1930s, the GAR had vacated the building and the city took ownership. The GAR building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1986. More recently the city has attempted to sell the building, but a coalition including the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War brought suit against the city of Detroit to block sale of the building, claiming that a clause in the 1898 deed on the building stated that city must preserve the building as a memorial to Civil War veterans.

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This Richardsonian Romanesque-designed building lies on a small, triangular lot on the northwest side of downtown Detroit.
Originally built for the Grand Army of the Republic club members in Detroit, the building included 13 shops and a bank of the ground floor, office space on the second and third floors, and a small auditorium on the fourth floor.
By 1934, only a few GAR members were still alive and the building was given to the City of Detroit. The building was then used by the GAR Memorial Association, a women's group that used it until 1973 when the building was effectively abandoned.

Detroit Free Press reports on April 7, 2007 that the GAR Building has been sold to Olympia Development, an arm of the Illitch Family. The Illitch's also own the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers.

The Free Press also said that the sale price was $220,500. Olympia Holdings is expected to renovate the building at a cost of $2 million, and use it for its staff.