Chateau Frontenac Apartments facts for kids

Chateau Frontenac Apartments
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	10410 East Jefferson Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Built	1925
Architect	J. Will Wilson, Otto Misch
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
Demolished	c. 1995
MPS	East Jefferson Avenue Residential TR
NRHP reference No.	91000213
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 28, 1991
Removed from NRHP	June 10, 2020

The Chateau Frontenac Apartments was a large apartment building in Detroit, Michigan. It was named after the famous Chateau Frontenac hotel. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Sadly, it was later torn down around 1995. Because it was demolished, it was removed from the National Register in 2020.

What Did the Chateau Frontenac Look Like?

The Chateau Frontenac was an eight-story apartment building. It was built using light brown, or "buff," bricks. It also had off-white terra cotta details. Terra cotta is a type of baked clay used for building and art. The building had a sloped roof made of green Spanish tiles.

Architectural Style and Details

The building's style was Mediterranean Revival. This means it looked like buildings from countries around the Mediterranean Sea. It also had some French Gothic touches. The building was shaped like the letter "E" when seen from above.

The main entrance was through a special section that stuck out. This section had a tile roof. Inside, there was a terra cotta fountain with a dolphin design. The first floor looked like it had rough, large stones. This style is called "rustication."

Brickwork and Decorations

Builders used different ways to lay the bricks. This made the walls look more interesting. For example, they used American bond and English bond patterns. Above the second-floor windows, there were fan-shaped terra cotta decorations.

Between the top-floor windows, there were special terra cotta designs called "cartouches." These are like fancy scrolls or shields. Under the roof, there were decorative terra cotta brackets. These are supports that look like they hold up the roof's edge. Some windows stuck out into the courtyard. These were three-sided bay windows with many small glass panes.

Inside the Apartments

The Chateau Frontenac originally had 102 apartments inside. The rooms had decorative wood frames around doors and windows. The hallways also had fancy trim near the ceiling, called cornices. These cornices had designs that looked like leaves.

A Brief History of the Chateau Frontenac

The Chateau Frontenac Apartments was designed by an architect named J. Will Wilson. He also owned the building at first. In the early 1900s, many high-quality apartment buildings opened along East Jefferson Avenue. The Chateau Frontenac was one of them.

Changes in Ownership

However, it seems that Mr. Wilson had money problems while building it. He had to sell the building in 1927. After that, the Chateau Frontenac had many different owners over the years. It was eventually torn down around 1995.

See also

In Spanish: Chateau Frontenac Apartments para niños