Ford Building

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Ford Building
Information
Location 615 Griswold

Detroit, Michigan
Flag of the United States United States

Status Complete
Constructed 1909
Neo-Classical and
Neo-Renaissance elements
Use Office
Technical details
Floor count 23
Companies
Architect Daniel Burnham

The Ford Building is a high-rise office building standing at 615 Griswold Street, in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at the northwest corner of the intersection between Congress Street and Griswold Street in the heart of Detroit's Financial District. Next door sits the Penobscot Building, and across Griswold St. dwells the Guardian Building.

Designed by Daniel Burnham, it was built in 1907 and finished in 1909. It will celebrate its 100th year of existence in 2009. The building was one of the first to use a steel structural support system. It stands at 23 stories in total height, with two basement floors, 19 above-ground floors, and two penthouses. It held the title as tallest building in Detroit from 1909 until 1913. The Ford Building's primary uses are for offices and retail. Appropriately for Detroit, Burnham styled it with Neo-Classical and Neo-Renaissance elements. It is constructed with Terra cotta materials and accented with white Italian marble. Burham's other remaining skyscraper designs in Detroit include the David Whitney Building (1915) and the Dime Building (1912).

[edit] References and further reading

  • 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. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Penobscot Block
Tallest Building in Michigan
1909 -1913
Succeeded by
Penobscot Annex