The Metropolitan Building

The Metropolitan Building is a 15 story office building in downtown Detroit, near Grand Circus Park. Architects Weston and Ellington designed it in a Neo-Gothic style and it was finished in 1924-1925. Offices, stores and jewelers made up most of the buildings tenants. The site was closed in 1977 and has remained abandoned since then.

Exterior

The Metropolitan sits adjacent to the Wurlitzer building. Brick and granite compose most of the lower levels and the top 5 floors are coated with terra cotta and shaped into decorative motifs. The 15th floor in the center tower contains the building’s water tank and vertigo inducing fire escapes adorn each side of the structure. Decades of neglect has rusted the metal fixtures at the front entrance and the name plate under the facade is rendered in Art Noveau lettering.

The Wurlitzer Building

Wurlitzer Building was designed by Robert Finn and built by Otto Misch Co in 1926. This 14 story building is designed in the Renaissance Revival style. The Wurlitzer is a steel framed structure made of reinforced concrete, a terra cotta face and granite colums. Wurlitzer’s name on the south side of the building looks like a ghost sign. Closer inspection revealed that the company’s name in black letters letters and white background were composed of terra cotta blocks.

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. was founded in 1856 and sold instruments before making pianos. Silent films of the early 1920’s created a demand for an organ that could produce special effects and traditional sounds during movies. After Rudolph Wurlitzer died in 1914 his sons continued the business building jukeboxes. Wurlitzer was well known for their pianos, organs, jukeboxes and instruments. In 1940 the building was modernized for more display space. It was abandoned in the late 1970’s and it’s future remains uncertain.

References

buildingsofdetroit.com

A47,  archives