Download or read book Art Deco in Detroit written by Rebecca Binno Savage and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-20 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1920s, Art Deco, or "The Modern Style," has delighted people with its innovative use of materials and designs that capture the spirit of optimism to create the style of the future. Although the Detroit metro area is primarily known as an industrial region, it boasts some of the finest examples of Art Deco in the country. Art Deco in Detroit explores the wide-ranging variety of these architectural marvels, from world-famous structures like the Fisher and Penobscot Buildings, to commercial buildings, theaters, homes, and churches. Through a panorama of photographs, authors Rebecca Binno Savage and Greg Kowalski take readers on a fascinating tour of this influential movement and its manifestations in and around Detroit. The grandeur evident in some of the major buildings reflects a time when artisans and architects collaborated to craft structures that transcend functionality-they endure as standing works of art.
Download or read book Designing Detroit written by Michael G. Smith and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 1900s, Detroit was leading the nation in architectural innovation and designer Wirt Rowland was at the forefront of this advancement, yet few are even aware of his substantial contribution to the evolution of architectural style. It is widely believed that celebrated local architect Albert Kahn designed many of Detroit’s structures, such as the General Motors and First National Bank buildings. In fact, while Kahn’s efforts were focused on running his highly successful firm, it was Rowland, his chief designer, who was responsible for the appearance and layout of these buildings—an important point in appreciating the contributions of both Kahn and Rowland. During the early twentieth century, Rowland devised a wholly new or “modern” design for buildings, one not reliant on decorative elements copied from architecture of the past. As buildings became more specialized for their intended use, Rowland met the challenge with entirely new design methodologies and a number of improved technologies and materials that subsequently became commonplace. Designing Detroit: Wirt Rowland and the Rise of Modern American Architecture begins with a brief overview of Rowland’s early life and career. Author Michael G. Smith goes on to analyze Rowland’s achievements in building design and as a leader of Detroit’s architectural community throughout both World Wars and the Great Depression. The interdependence of architecture with the city’s fluctuating economic prosperity and population growth is explored, illuminating the conditions for good architecture and the arts in general. The author identifies the influence of Jay Hambidge’s “dynamic symmetry” in Rowland’s work and how it allowed him to employ color as a modern replacement for traditional ornamentation, leading to the revolutionary design of the Union Trust (Guardian) Building, for which he receives nearly unanimous praise in national media. This book is concerned primarily with Rowland’s influence on Detroit architecture, but spans beyond his work in Michigan to include the designer’s broad reach from New York to Miami. A comprehensive appendix includes extensive lists of Rowland’s publications, locations he had designed, and jobs taken on by his firm during his tenure. This book represents new research and insights not previously discussed in either scholarly or general audience texts and will be of interest to casual readers of Detroit history, as well as architecture historians.
Download or read book American City written by Robert Sharoff and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the 1910s and 1920s there was more steel going up in Detroit than anywhere outside of New York and Chicago. The result was the country's first high-tech metropolis, a city of lavish monuments and glittering skyscrapers." "The list of major architects who designed buildings for Detroit includes Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, Stanford White, Daniel Burnham, Cass Gilbert, Albert Kahn, Minoru Yamasaki, Philip Johnson, and numerous others." "Detroit's public buildings - its museums, libraries, schools, and monuments - are second to none in terms of their overall scale, materials, and detailing. Hotels, stores, theaters, and other commercial venues display a breezy cosmopolitanism consistent with the city's position as both a technology hub and a crossroads of immigration." "Overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the buildings they encountered on a 2003 visit to downtown Detroit, writer Robert Sharoff and photographer William Zbaren were inspired to create American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845-2005, the first new large-format book on the city's architecture in more than thirty years." "The fact that many structures are either endangered or marginally in use makes the book all the more compelling. In 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed "the historic buildings of downtown Detroit" on the list of the country's most endangered landmarks." "The book also includes examples of interesting new architecture as well as numerous historic buildings from the 1920s and earlier that have been maintained or in some cases painstakingly restored."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book The Detroit Public Library written by Barbara Madgy Cohn and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2017-05-16 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the last century, the Detroit Public Library has ranked as one of the most beautiful buildings in Detroit — an important landmark as well as a significant monument serving generations of Detroiters. The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic was born out of “Discover the Wonders,” an art and architectural tour of the main library that began in December 2013. Since the tour’s inception, around seven thousand people have visited this structural gem. The Detroit Public Library was the result of numerous requests for a book that showcases the library’s many artistic and architectural wonders. As the photographs in this book reveal, the Detroit Public Library stands as an enduring symbol of the public library, one of the most democratic institutions in America. The design of the Detroit Public Library was Cass Gilbert’s vision for Detroit’s Early Italian Renaissance-style library. This book honors his work with a chronological and photographic timeline of the conception and building of the 1921 Woodward Avenue Library, the 1963 Cass Avenue addition, and the library as it is today. The book goes through the library’s transformative years, documenting the contributions of local and national artists such as Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Gari Melchers, and John Stephens Coppin, and includes photographs of the rooms they have decorated with murals, mosaics, painted windows, bronze works, architectural elements, and ornamentation. In preparing The Detroit Public Library, the authors had two fundamental desires, as they note in their preface. The first was to celebrate the main library’s design using both historic and contemporary images, the latter contributed by a number of photographers presently working in Detroit. The second was “to share with the world the beauty and elegance of a grand building in a great city that, even through the most difficult times, has sustained one of the most magnificent neo-classical buildings in the country.” The Detroit Public Library unites the interests of history buffs, art enthusiasts, library lovers, and Detroit-area locals with a tribute to one of the city’s most impressive structures. This book will appeal to those looking to learn about the builders, the history, and the stories that brought the Detroit Public Library to fruition.
Download or read book Michigan Modern written by Brian D. Conway and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy takes readers on a privileged tour of iconic buildings and interiors designed by some of the world¿s most renowned and celebrated architects and interior designers. Each of the 34 selected projects is carefully documented to record its place in art history and the story behind both its architect and client.
Download or read book A Language Understood written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Guardians of Detroit written by Jeffrey Morrison and published by Painted Turtle. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building-by-building pictorial and historical survey of the remarkable collection of architectural sculpture found in Detroit.
Download or read book A History Lover s Guide to Detroit written by Karin Risko and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2018 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Detroit's auto heritage is known worldwide, but this fascinating city's history runs much deeper. Step inside the tiny recording studio where Berry Gordy, a young entrepreneur who faced tremendous prejudice, created a music empire that broke down racial barriers. Tour Art Deco masterpieces so spectacular they're called "cathedrals" to commerce and finance. Walk in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Cobo Hall, where he first delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Join Karin Risko for an intimate tour of the city that put the world on wheels and discover an amazing history of innovation, philanthropy, social justice and culture.
Download or read book AIA Detroit written by Eric J. Hill and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautifully designed resource that takes readers on a tour of greater Detroit's many architectural wonders and special landmarks.
Download or read book The Buildings of Detroit written by W. Hawkins Ferry and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive volume on Detroit's architectural history, from the 1700s to the end of the twentieth century. First published in 1968, The Buildings of Detroit: A History by W. Hawkins Ferry is the definitive resource on the architecture of Detroit and its adjacent communities, from pioneering times to the end of the twentieth century. Ferry based his impressive volume on thirteen years of meticulous research, interviews with many prominent architects, and hundreds of photos commissioned specifically for the book. Ferry revised The Buildings of Detroit in 1980, adding the Renaissance Center and other modern works, and this re-released version presents the revised edition adding only a new foreword by John Gallagher. The Buildings of Detroit spans from the early 1700s, when the city was a fur-trading post in the wilderness, to its more contemporary position as the capital of the automotive industry and a major industrial city. Along the way, Ferry offers glimpses of the log cabins of early explorers and soldiers, the Victorian mansions of lumber barons, and the Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hills residences of motor magnates. He traces the development of new building techniques that gave rise to the American skyscraper and the modern factory. Ferry details all of downtown's landmark buildings, including many that are no longer standing, and visits fascinating neighborhood structures like movie theaters, hotels, shopping centers, and apartment buildings. In each chapter, readers will meet the visionary architects and clients whose foresight and initiative helped shape the fabric of one of America's great cities. The Buildings of Detroit also includes a selected chronology, maps, references, notes, an extensive index, and 475 illustrations. Previously out of print and difficult to find, this re-released classic will be treasured by Detroit history buffs and architectural historians.
Download or read book A History of Detroit s Palmer Park written by Gregory C. Piazza and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Palmer Park is Detroit's underappreciated architectural jewel. Located around the intersection of McNichols Road (Six Mile) and Woodward Avenue, it embraces every style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. United States senator Thomas Palmer originally developed the property as farmland and donated it to the city in the 1890s. Between 1924 and 1964, its character changed with some of the best examples of modern apartment living from top local architects, including one of just five buildings credited to the world-renowned Albert Kahn. Author Gregory C. Piazza showcases the exceptional story of building Palmer Park.
Download or read book Secret Detroit written by Karen Dybis and published by Reedy Press LLC. This book was released on 2018-04-15 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Detroit is known for its automotive heritage, the Motown sound, and American's first mile of concrete highway. But this cityon the river has more than three hundred years of history, and most of it iseasy to experience if you know where to look. There's the Michigan Theatre, theornate movie house turned parking garage with a grand stage looming over itscars. Picturesque Alfred Brush Ford Park once stored nuclear missiles among itsplaygrounds and fishing spots. Then there are incredible landmarks like Detroit'smassive salt mines and a monument to urban graffiti known as the Dequindre Cutas well as the world's oldest operating jazz club. Secret Detroit explores thisgreat American city to investigate everything that is odd, unexpected, andextraordinary. Detroit is the kind of city you need to see and experience tounderstand why locals brag about being from the Motor City. Full of stories andtall tales, this book is a must-have for urban explorers, history buffs, andtravelers of all experience levels
Download or read book Forgotten Landmarks of Detroit written by Dan Austin and published by Lost. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Step Inside a Detroit You've Never Seen. The Motor City. The City on the Strait. The Arsenal of Democracy. Detroit is the city that put the world on wheels. Once the fourth largest in the country, its streets were filled with bustling crowds and lined with breathtaking landmarks. Over the years, many of Detroit's most beautiful buildings-packed with marble, ornate metalwork, painted ceilings and glitz and glamour-have been reduced to dust. From the hallowed halls of Old City Hall to the floating majesty of steamships to the birthplace of the automotive industry, Dan Austin, author of Lost Detroit and creator of HistoricDetroit.org, recaptures stories and memories of a forgotten Detroit, giving readers a glimpse into some of the most stunning buildings this city has ever known. Book jacket.
Download or read book American Art Deco written by Alastair Duncan and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the tradition of the streamlined design and reveals how it was manifested in the great buildings, furniture, and merchandise of the 1930s.
Download or read book MultiStories 55 Antique Skyscrapers and the Business Tycoons Who Built Them written by Mark Houser and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-20 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Skyscrapers are an American original. A century ago, towering technological marvels like the Flatiron Building dramatically transformed cities across the United States and soon spread around the globe. Today, as these graceful structures are rediscovered and put to new use, learn the inspiring and long-forgotten stories of how they came to be.Here are the surprising details of America's early millionaires--the complex characters they were and the companies they built, the risks they took, the dreams they chased, and the explosion of raw economic power and societal disruption they unleashed on a young nation. A lively collection of case studies and popular history reveals the entrepreneurs who built American corporate culture, with their successes and failures, triumphs and tragedies. Whether rags-to-riches immigrants, crafty clerks, ambitious officials, or perceptive investors, each is a tale of perseverance and vision ultimately brought to fruition, and a legacy that is now ours to experience in the grand old skyscrapers they left behind.Award-winning writer and speaker Mark Houser weaves extensive historical research with observations from his visits to these buildings to construct a personal guided tour of 55 fascinating antique skyscrapers across America and abroad.
Download or read book Building the Modern World written by Michael H. Hodges and published by Painted Turtle. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A photographically rich biography of protean architect Albert Kahn.
Download or read book The Scarab Club written by Patricia Reed and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the cusp of its centennial anniversary, the Scarab Club (founded in 1907) weaves itself into the city of Detroit's and the state of Michigan's artistic cultural heritage. From its humble beginning as the Hopkin Club to its current status in the 21st century, the Scarab Club focuses on fine, performing, and technical arts and is still housed in its original 1928 building, a historic local, state, and national landmark. The club's exhibitions, programs, and costumed balls, the prominent visitors' and members' signatures on the second-floor beams, and the architectural decor of the clubhouse combine for its unique distinction. From its inception, the Scarab Club's mission has been to educate and enlighten its members and the community in the arts. The organization maintains a clubhouse for the exhibition of arts, provides facilities for artists for the advancement of their craft, and for other activities directed toward the education in the arts."
