Maccabees Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maccabees Building |
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| General information | |
| Type | office |
| Location | 5057 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 465.9 ft (142.0 m) |
| Roof | 196.9 ft (60.0 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 15 |
| Floor area | 293,000 sq ft (27,220 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
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Maccabees Building
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| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | Albert Kahn |
| Architectural style | Art Deco, Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 83003436 |
| Added to NRHP | July 7, 1983 |
The Maccabees Building is a famous old building in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It's also sometimes called Wayne Tower. This building is very important because of its history and unique design. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, which means it's recognized as a special historical site. Today, Wayne State University owns it.
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What the Building Looks Like
The Maccabees Building has a unique shape. It starts with a five-story base that covers the whole area. Above this base, a nine-story section rises up. There are also ten-story sections that support each corner. If you look at the floor plans from the fourth to the tenth floor, you can clearly see the building forms the letter "H".
The building is tall and features cool designs from the Art Deco and Romanesque styles. You can see large arched windows on the first and second floors. There are also round "rose windows" that add a special touch to the second floor. Windows on the tenth and fourteenth floors are also arched and have fancy decorative panels. The outside of the building is covered with light-colored limestone. The main entrance is set back inside a tall, curved arch. This arch continues inside to form the lobby ceiling.
The Radio Tower on Top
The very top of the central part of the building has a radio broadcast tower. This tower was once used by WXYZ radio and television stations until 1959. Later, another radio station, WGPR, used the tower for its broadcasts. Today, it also helps transmit data for Wayne State University. The antenna reaches about 466 feet (142 meters) into the sky from the ground.
History of the Maccabees Building
Construction on the Maccabees Building started in 1926 and finished in 1927. It was built for a group called the Knights of the Maccabees. This group later started an insurance company called Royal Maccabees Insurance.
The building had extra space, so it rented out offices and shops to other businesses. A very famous tenant was WXYZ, a radio and TV station in Detroit. Before 1959, their offices, studios, and broadcast facilities were in the Maccabees Building. During that time, popular radio shows like The Lone Ranger, Challenge of the Yukon, and The Green Hornet were broadcast from here. People all over North America listened to these shows! From 1959 to 1987, another radio station, WDET-FM, used the studios and tower. In the 1950s, a famous comedian named Soupy Sales even performed in a studio on the lower level.
Changes in Ownership
In 1960, the Maccabees Insurance Company moved its main office to a new building in a different town. After they left, the Detroit Public School System (DPS) bought the building to use as their headquarters. From 1960 to 2002, it was known as the "School Center Building," but the Maccabees name stayed visible on the outside.
The Maccabees Building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
In 2002, the Detroit Public Schools decided to move their offices. They bought space in another building because the Maccabees Building needed a lot of expensive repairs to meet modern safety rules. That same year, Wayne State University bought the Maccabees Building. They needed more space for their growing campus.
Today, the building holds administrative offices, communication equipment, shops, and offices for many of the university's departments. The entire building was updated and renovated in 2004 and 2005. The second, third, and fourteenth floors were set up for the Wayne State University Computer Science Department.
On March 25, 2011, Wayne State University and Detroit Public Television announced they would work together. They opened a television production studio in the same space where WXYZ-TV used to be. This studio helps students in the university's media arts programs get real-world experience.
See also
In Spanish: Maccabees Building para niños
