Guardian Building

For the building in Cleveland, U.S.A., see Guardian Bank Building.

Guardian Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location	500 Griswold Street Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates
Built	1928
Architect	Wirt Rowland; Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
Architectural style	Mayan Revival, Art Deco
Part of	Detroit Financial District (#09001067)
NRHP Reference #	89001165
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 29, 1989
Designated NHL	June 29, 1989

The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located at 500 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. The Guardian is a class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan and serves as its headquarters. Built in 1928 and finished in 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including art moderne designs. At the top of the Guardian Building's spire is a large American Flag, complementing the four smaller flags atop nearby 150 West Jefferson. The building has undergone recent award-winning renovations. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989, and the associated Detroit Financial District is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Guardian building includes retail and a tourist gift shop.

Architecture

File:Guardian Building Detroit Interior Clock.jpg

The Guardian is nicknamed the Cathedral of Finance

The main frame of the skyscraper rises 36 stories, capped by two asymmetric spires, one extending for four additional stories. The roof height of the building is 496 ft (151 m), the top floor is 489 feet (149 m), and the spire reaches 632 ft (192.6 m). The exterior blends brickwork with tile, limestone, and terra cotta. The building's interior is lavishly decorated with mosaic and Pewabic and Rookwood tile. The semi-circular exterior domes are filled with Pewabic Pottery; Mary Chase Perry Stratton worked closely with the architect in the design of the symbolic decorations. (See Savage, infra.) Its nickname, Cathedral of Finance, alludes both to the building's resemblance to a cathedral, with its tower over the main entrance and octagonal apse at the opposite end and to New York City's Woolworth Building, which had earlier been dubbed the Cathedral of Commerce. Native American themes are common inside and outside the building. Wirt C. Rowland, of the Smith, Hinchman & Grylls firm, was the building's architect while Corrado Parducci created the two sculptures flanking the Griswold Street entrance. The building includes works by muralist Ezra Winter. Rowland's attention to detail was meticulous. He supervised the creation of bricks to achieve the desired color for the exterior and designed furniture for the bank's offices. His attention went as far as designing tableware, linens and waitress uniforms for a restaurant in the building.

History

The skyscraper was built by the Union Trust Company, founded in Detroit in 1890 by Senator James McMillan, and Dexter M. Ferry, along with investments from Russell A. Alger, Col. Frank J. Hecker, and Christian H. Buhl. During World War II, the Guardian Building served as the U.S Army Command Center for war time production. The Guardian served various tenants as an office building in downtown Detroit. In 1982 it became the headquarters of Michigan Consolidated Gas Company ("MichCon") subsequent to the divestiture of MichCon by ANR Company in 1981. Under the leadership of President and COO Stephen E. Ewing, MichCon restored the lobby and vaulted ceilings on the first floor in 1986. It later was headquarters for MCN Energy Group, Inc, the parent company of MichCon until the merger of MCN with DTE Energy in 2001. It was sold by DTE to a local real estate developer in 2002.

On July 18, 2007, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced it has entered into an agreement with current owners to purchase the Guardian Building to relocate its offices from the Wayne County Building. The deal is reportedly part of a larger deal worth $33.5 million in real estate purchases in downtown Detroit. The Guardian Building has become a souvenir item along with other Detroit skyscrapers.

Tenants

• SmithGroupJJR
• Wayne County

Gallery

• 

  The Guardian interior

• Detroit December 2015 30 (Guardian Building).jpg

  The Guardian interior

• Detroit December 2015 29 (Guardian Building).jpg

  The Guardian interior

• 

  An exterior dome of The Guardian Building

• 

  The Guardian Building, flying the American flag over the Detroit Financial District

• Guardian Building with flag - Detroit Michigan.jpg

  Top of the Guardian Building, with The Qube in the foreground

• Union Trust Building-Metal Gates.jpg

  Monel metal gates in the basement of the Guardian Building

See also

• Buhl Building
• Cadillac Place
• David Stott Building
• Fisher Building
• Penobscot Building
• List of tallest buildings in Detroit

Further reading

• Ferry, W. Hawkins (1968). The Buildings of Detroit: A History. Wayne State University Press.
• Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Shadowing Parducci, unpublished manuscript, Detroit.
• Lacy, Robert, Ford, The Men and the Machine, Little Brown & Co., 1986, pgs. 328-334

External links

• Official Guardian Building website
• Emporis: Guardian Building
• National Park Service: Guardian Building
• SkyscraperPage: Guardian Building
• Made in Michigan Blog: "Cathedral of Finance" (Guardian Building) — text and vintage images.
• Guardian Building at Structurae