Detroit News Complex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Detroit News Complex
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| Location | 615 and 801 W. Lafayette Blvd. Detroit, Michigan |
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| Built | 1915 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| Architectural style | Commercial, Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 15000947 |
| Added to NRHP | December 29, 2015 |
The Detroit News Complex includes two important buildings in Detroit, Michigan. One is a historic office building at 615 West Lafayette Boulevard. The other is a parking garage across the street at 901 West Lafayette. Both buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The main building was home to The Detroit News newspaper until 2013. It was also the place where the first commercial radio broadcast in the United States happened, on station WWJ.
Contents
History of the Detroit News Complex
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The Detroit News newspaper started in 1873. It was founded by James E. Scripps. After he passed away in 1906, his son-in-law, George Gough Booth, took over. The newspaper grew very quickly. By 1906, over 100,000 copies were printed each day. By 1918, this number grew to more than 225,000!
George Gough Booth knew the paper needed more space. In 1913, the News bought a whole city block on Lafayette for $250,000. This land used to have the old home of Zachariah Chandler, a famous politician.
Booth hired a well-known architect named Albert Kahn to design the new building. They worked together to create a grand building that looked important, even though it was for an industrial business. Construction began in November 1915. The building was finished by October 1917, costing $2,000,000.
More parts were added soon after. In 1918, a warehouse for paper was built. In 1920–21, a sixth floor was added to the main building. A parking garage was built in 1924 across the street. It had shops and a full-service garage.
In 1920, radio station WWJ started broadcasting from this building. This was a very important moment! WWJ was the first radio station in the United States to broadcast for commercial purposes.
The Detroit News Building was the newspaper's home for almost 100 years. However, the newspaper business changed. In 1998, the Detroit Free Press newspaper also moved into the building. Then, in 2014, both newspapers moved to a new location. The Detroit News Building was then sold to Bedrock Real Estate.
What the Detroit News Complex Looks Like
The Detroit News Complex has two main parts. These are the Detroit News Building and its Parking Garage. They were built between 1915 and 1924.
The Detroit News Building
The Detroit News Building covers an entire city block. It has three main sections. The largest part was built from 1915 to 1917. It is a six-story building. It has a strong steel frame and concrete covered in light-colored limestone.
Next to this main part is a warehouse built in 1918–19. It was used to store large rolls of paper. Smaller additions were built in 1921 and 1924. The sides of the building that face the streets are covered in a light yellow limestone. The bottom has a dark gray granite base. The building has large arches at ground level and tall columns that go up to the fifth floor.
The Parking Garage
The parking garage was built in 1924. It is across the street from the main News Building. It has five stories and even has parking on the roof! It was built with a steel frame and concrete.
The garage's design is in the Art Deco style. It uses the same light yellow brick and limestone as the warehouse. The front of the parking garage has a tall central tower. This tower has parts that stick out at the corners, making it look very grand.
Images for kids
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The art department inside the Detroit News Building, with murals painted by employees.
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See also
In Spanish: Detroit News Building para niños
