Water Board Building
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| Water Board Building | |
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| Information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 735 Randolph Street |
| Status | Complete |
| Constructed | 1928 |
| Use | office |
| Floor count | 23 |
| Companies | |
| Architect | Louis Kamper |
The Water Board Building is an Art Deco high-rise office building in downtown Detroit, Michigan, located at 735 Randolph Street. It was constructed in 1928 and stands at 23 stories tall. It was built using the Art Deco architectural style, and its materials include granite, limestone, marble, and terra cotta. The building was designed by Louis Kamper.
It is triangular in shape, for its triangle-shaped plot of land, occupying the entire triangular plot of land formed by Randolph, Farmer, and Bates Streets.
The building is composed of a 5-story base topped by 15 more floors of office space, and crowned with a 3-story penthouse. It was originally only planned to be 14 floors in height, but because of the high land value of the site, the height was increased. The building's site was originally part of East Grand Circus Park as designated in 1806. The site was rezoned in 1886, when part of the land became home to the Metropolitan Police Commission. The building was completed in only seven months, and upon its completion, the Water Commission only occupied the first eight floors of the building with the other city departments filling up the remaining floors. The exterior of the penthouse is actually painted terra cotta, with the rest of the building faced in Bedford limestone. The base also includes marble and bands of pink and grey granite. The Water Board Commission became the sole tenant in the 1990s.
[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.
[edit] External links
- Google Maps location of Water Board Building
- Ford Building at Emporis.com
- SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on the Water Board Building
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