Wikipedia shares that the McGregor Memorial Conference Center is a meeting and event facility on the campus of Wayne State University in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, designed by noted American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) and completed in 1958. The design marks a shift in style from Yamasaki’s earlier International Style work to the New Formalism of his later years. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architectural quality in 2015.
If you can’t share your vision for the future of this iconic Detroit landmark in person, you can fill out the survey online.
When I read about the call for input on the Ren Cen, I knew exactly which photo of Sean’s I was gonna select! I’m featuring another he took in early August and also one from a vivid colored night on Hart Plaza earlier this week! Follow Snappd By Sean Photography on Facebook or Instagram for his latest!
Michigan in Pictures is hosted at WordPress.com. They are beginning to phase out posts written in their old format, so I am going to be re-sharing some so they don’t disappear forever. I always loved this photo that I shared 17 years ago today in 2009. I love the building too, and although it was one of many abandoned skyscrapers in downtown Detroit, it (like much of downtown) has returned to its former glory as one of the city’s most stunning buildings.
She’s one of a kind. Some might even say beautiful in its ugliness. But regardless how you feel about its exterior, no one can deny that a seven-year, $300 million renovation has polished the Book Tower and Book Building into an absolute gem in the city’s skyline.
No skyscraper in Detroit, let alone the Midwest, looks quite like the Book Tower on Washington Boulevard. It’s a rather awkward-looking building, whether you look at its unusual maze of an external fire escape or the intricate, over-the-top details on its crown that are tough to appreciate without a pair of binoculars. It’s an undeniably unique piece of the city’s skyline and a rare breed of classical Renaissance-style architecture and skyscraper. As an added bonus, joined at its hip is one of the city’s oldest surviving office buildings.
…Starting in 1916, J. Burgess Book Jr. and his brothers embarked on trying to turn the rundown and ragged Washington Boulevard into an upscale and fashionable destination, similar to Fifth Avenue in New York. The first major building they had constructed was the Book Building, a rather simple 13-story Italian Renaissance office building that opened in 1917. The stately stone-faced structure, like most of the buildings on the boulevard, was designed by Louis Kamper, the Books’ architect of choice. While the Book brothers were the men behind Washington Boulevard, Kamper was the man who would build it.
While distinguished, the Book Building was hardly the architectural conversation starter or hint of what was to come. It was Kamper’s first major commercial design. The ground floor spaces were for shops; the floors above were for office space. Along the Washington Boulevard side, the Book Building has 12 sculptures of nude women, known as caryatids, which seem to be holding up the building’s cornice. Back in the 1970s, the priests across the street at St. Aloysius Catholic Church used to call them the wives of the 12 Apostles. The building’s U-shaped design allowed for ample sunlight in more offices.
Chris shared a perfect photo for a roundup of recent Detroit news saying: “Both projects broke ground in 2020. The Hudson’s site is now Detroit’s second tallest building, while the Gordie Howe Bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. Also lit up is the Ambassador Bridge which recently reached its 100 year anniversary.” (the Ambassador is in the foreground with the string of lights).
While 98% of the $5.7 billion project is complete, bridge officials say the remaining work is forcing the delay from the previously announced fall 2025 opening … The final phase focuses heavily on testing the bridge’s technological systems.
…A report from S&P Global Ratings indicated that contractors had missed previous deadlines for transferring border facilities to authorities, though bridge officials would not specifically comment on this.
Detroit has definitely been on the come up in recent years, but it is still notable that 13 years after a poll showed two-thirds of Detroiters felt the city was moving in the wrong direction, a new survey found a dramatic, 180-degree turnaround with 76% feeling the city is headed in the right direction with 11% disagreeing & 13% having no opinion. Among that 11% is Livonia resident & leader of the Detroit News editorial page Nolan Finley, who ruffled more than a few feathers when he suggested that Detroiters are deluded to express contentment.
Established in 1860, Brush Park is one of the oldest historic neighborhoods in Detroit. Today it encompasses twenty-four blocks, bounded by Mack Avenue on the north, Woodward Avenue on the west, Beaubien Street on the east, and the Fisher Freeway on the south. In the late 1700s, the land was part of a ribbon farm owned by the Askin family, prominent fur traders and British loyalists.
Askin did not approve of American independence, so in 1802 he and his wife moved to Canada, leaving control of the farm and the enslaved people who worked there in the hands of his son-in-law Elijah Brush, husband to Adelaide Askin. Brush was active in civic affairs, serving as the second mayor of Detroit, the Michigan Territory United States Attorney, and Michigan Territory Treasurer. As a lieutenant colonel in the territorial militia, Brush was taken prisoner during the War of 1812 when the British captured Detroit.
Edmund Brush inherited the estate when his father died. He was also an influential figure in Detroit – a volunteer with the fire department and president of the water commission. In the 1850s, Brush began dividing and selling his land to wealthy families. He named the streets Alfred, Adelaide, Edmund, Eliot, and Brush after family members. Brush had many building restrictions, some which required expensive, large homes for the neighborhood, leading Brush Park to be called “Little Paris” for its mansions. Many famous Detroiters lived in the area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century including Joseph L. Hudson, Albert Kahn and Grace Whitney Evans, daughter of David Whitney.
Read more and/or see related historical photos & from the Detroit Historical Society, and as someone who used to live on Adelaide, I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see these wonderful buildings return to life!
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born Dec. 17, 1936, to Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the eldest of five children. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969 and led the religious order in Argentina during the country’s murderous dictatorship from 1976-83. He became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and elevated to cardinal in 2001 by St. John Paul II. He was elected the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, on the fifth ballot.
Francis’s first included:
The first pope from the Americas.
The first from the Jesuit order to be elected pope.
The first to take the name of Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.
The first to visit Iraq, meeting its top Shiite Muslim cleric in 2021.
The NBA shares that after an unprecedented turnaround, the Detroit Pistons are back in the NBA Playoffs! The Cade Cunningham-led Pistons were 44-38 good for 6th in the Eastern Conference this season just one year after winning a league-low 14 games.
The seven game series vs the New York Knicks (51-31) opens Saturday at 6pm at Madison Square Garden. The Freep notes that this isn’t a matchup between a top seed like 2019 playoff sweep vs MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Knicks do have home-court advantage, more playoff experience, and more star power, but the Pistons won three of four games against the Knicks this season.
I went over to Michigan Central this morning after a reader tipped me off about the cool color scheme yesterday, but it was just the usual white lights. The very large silver lining is that you all get this amazing drone shot from yesterday morning. Click the photo to follow Chris on Facebook, click here for his Instagram, and for sure check out the Detroit portfolio on his website for more great shots, including some of MCS in different colors!
Wearin’ o the Green (lights) at Michigan Central by Andrew McFarlane
Longtime followers of Michigan in Pictures who know how near & dear to my heart and the very existence of this photoblog Detroit’s Michigan Central Station is probably won’t be surprised that a string of requests from readers & friends to share pics of MCS lit up for St Patrick’s Day moved me to ride over there at 5am today!
I don’t have a photo site (yet at least) but you can always throw me a buck or two on Patreon! And for sure check out lots more Michigan Central Station on Michigan in Pictures!
PS: WOW do I wish I’d brought my dSLR over – the moon was incredible!!!
On December 31st, I will begin my 20th year of doing Michigan-focused photo blog Michigan in Pictures!! I’m going to try some new things this year to keep things fresh & fun for Michigan in Pictures regulars including yours truly like featuring more of my photos from the present day & my surprisingly extensive archives. As with today’s entry, a lot of them will be from Detroit where I live.
My first “Farlane Friday” is the brand new building at the new Hudson’s building in downtown Detroit which I am honestly a big fan of. I wasn’t alone, because this photo blew up when I shared it in the Detroit Photography group on Facebook. Hudson’s was Detroit’s signature department store and the place where I – like many Detroiters – unquestionably got my first picture taken with Santa. I also spent more than one Saturday reading dinosaur books at the lunch counter while my Grandma shopped with her friends. You can head over to Hudson’s Detroit for lots more about this new addition to Detroit’s skyline & for sure check out this post about the history of Hudson’s on Michigan in Pictures.
Yesterday Bedrock and General Motors announced a conceptual plan to redevelop the Renaissance Center (RenCen) and 27 acres along the Detroit riverfront. They say that the plan “preserves the essence of Detroit’s skyline, ‘right sizes’ the RenCen’s footprint, and connects the site to the heart of downtown. The surrounding entertainment district would become a vibrant waterfront destination, drawing international visitors and featuring restaurants, hospitality, residential and market space—complementing Detroit’s award-winning Riverwalk, which draws more than 3.5 million annual visitors to the city.”
Check out the renderings & Detroit News excerpt below for an idea of what’s in store & please share your thoughts. Personally, I’m glad that they’re preserving some of this truly iconic structure but honestly worried that it could end up being a terrifying albatross in the event of an economic downturn. Much more about the Renaissance Center on Michigan in Pictures.
It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a photo by the amazing Joe Gall aka Camera Jesus. He shared this back in January of 2023. Follow him on Facebook & Instagram for the latest and for sure head over to CameraJesus.com to view & purchase his photos including this beauty of a supermoon rising over the Ren Cen!!
The Renaissance Center would shrink to three towers with residential, office and hotel tenancy to create space for a six-acre riverfront park in a more than $1.6 billion redevelopment plan dependent on $250 million in state support that would make billionaire mortgage mogul Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm shared owner of the complex with current owner General Motors … Gilbert is contributing $1 billion in equity and debt, and GM is providing $250 million after having invested $1.5 billion into the building during its ownership. A new entity owning the site will reflect each party’s contribution toward the redevelopment, said Dave Massaron, GM’s vice president of infrastructure and corporate citizenship.
