Penobscot Building

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This article is about the 47-story tower in Detroit, Michigan. For the original building, see The Penobscot Building. For other uses, see Penobscot (disambiguation).

Penobscot Building
Penobscot Building on the left, Dime Building on the right
Information
Location	645 Griswold Street Detroit, Michigan  United States
Status	Complete
Constructed	1928
Use	office
Height
Antenna/Spire	663 ft (202.2 m)
Roof	566 ft (172.3 m)
Top floor	523 ft (159.4 m)
Technical Details
Floor count	47
Floor area	776,486 ft² (72,138 m²)
Elevator count	25
Companies
Architect	Wirt C. Rowland, SmithGroup, Donaldson and Meier

The Penobscot Building is a skyscraper in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Rising 566 feet (172.3 m) at 645 Griswold Street, the 47-story Penobscot was the tallest building in Michigan from its completion in 1928 until the construction of the Renaissance Center's central tower in 1977. The tower has 2 basement floors, and 45 above-ground floors, for a total of 47. Upon its completion, it was the eighth tallest building in the world and the tallest outside New York City and Chicago. Like many of the city's other Roaring Twenties buildings, it displays Art Deco influences, including its "H" shape (designed to allow maximum sunlight into the building) and the sculptural setbacks that cause the upper floors to progressively "erode". The building's architect, Wirt C. Rowland, also designed such memorable Detroit skyscrapers as the Guardian Building in the same decade. At night, the building's upper floors are dramatically lit in floodlight fashion, topped with a red sphere. Today, the ornate Penobscot Building is a fiber optic hub downtown equipped with state of the art technology and conference facilities.

Although the Penobscot Building has more floors than Comerica Tower at Detroit Center (45 above-ground floors compared to Comerica Tower's 43), Comerica's floors and spires are taller, with its roof sitting roughly 60 feet taller than Penobscot's. The opulent Penobscot is one of many buildings in Detroit that features architectural sculpture by Corrado Parducci.

The Penobscot Building served as a "compass" for pilots in airplanes during its early years, due to its position of facing due north. The building also served as an inspiration of sorts for the Empire State Building in New York City, and many individuals worked on the construction of both towers.

The tower is also connected to an older and shorter building, the Penobscot Annex, which is similarly shaped. The two buildings are a part of the Penobscot Block, located at Griswold Street and West Fort Street. This is the last portion of the Penobscot complex developed. There is a Class A conference center located on the 13th floor of this building.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origin of the name 2 Architectural sculpture 2.1 Examples 2.2 Facts 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Origin of the name

The following version of the choice of the name of the building is found in an undated publication believed to have been published concurrent with the buildings dedication in 1928 contains the following:

An intimation of the Murphy family's early history, together with the expression of genuine sentiment regarding the beginnings of the Murphy fortune, is contained in the name of the Greater Penobscot Building...... Long before the Civil War days, Simon J. Murphy and his partner, then two lads who had grown up in the Maine woods obtained their first employment in one of the logging camps along the Penobscot River - a stream named for the powerful tribe of Penobscot Indians.

The explanation also explains the choice of Native American styled art deco ornamentation used on the exterior and in the interior.

[edit] Architectural sculpture

[edit] Examples

by Corrado Parducci

Zodiac

[edit] Facts

• The building was designed by Wirt C. Rowland of the leading Detroit architectural firm Smith Hinchman & Grylls.
• Clad in Indiana limestone with a granite base, it rises like a shear cliff for thirty stories, then has a series of setbacks culminating in a red neon beacon tower.
• Ornamentation follows American Indian motifs, particularly in the entrance archway and in metalwork found in the lobby.
• The Penobscot Building was Detroit's tallest building for nearly a half-century, until the Renaissance Center overtook it in 1977.
• Once the tallest building outside New York and Chicago.
• When it was completed, it was the eighth tallest building in the world.
• The old framing elevation drawing of this building list is as being 562'-2" to the highest roof, approximately 565'-8" to the parapet wall around the roof, and 654'-2" to the top of the warning beacon atop the antenna.
• The Smart Detroit Conference Center occupies space on the 13th floor, and includes Class A conference, meeting, or convention space.
• The building bears a resemblance to the Empire State Building in New York City. This is not a coincidence, as many people worked on both towers.
• On holidays, both the Penobscot Building and the nearby One Woodward Avenue light up for the night, with red, white and blue (for Independence Day and Canada Day, and red, white and green for the Christmas season. In addition, during the Christmas season, the Penobscot Building's radio broadcast tower is illuminated bright gold, to resemble a giant glowing Christmas tree topped with a flashing red beacon.

[edit] See also

• Art Deco
• Cadillac Place
• Fisher Building
• Guardian Building
• Penobscot Annex
• The Penobscot Building
• Penobscot Block
• Robert Sharoff
• Wirt C. Rowland

[edit] References

• 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. 
• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6. 
• Savage, Rebecca Binno and Greg Kowalski (2004). Art Deco in Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-3228-2. 
• The Greater Penobscot Building: Fort and Griswold Streets, Detroit no author or date (ca. 1928) or publication information is included on the booklet.

[edit] External links

• Official Penobscot Building website
• Google Maps location of the Penobscot Building
• Penobscot Building details
• Article from the Detroit Area Art Deco Society
• SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on the Penobscot Building
• Nice photos of Penobscot Building by Architect