Saturday, January 30, 2010
North Woodward Garden Block Development (Updated)
Restoration and redevelopment are speeding along on the west side of Woodward between Mack and Warren. The C. Howard Crane designed Garden Theater (1912) will be returned to is original use as a theater and the Blue Moon Building will be renovated to house a restaurant. Gone are several blighted buildings on the block. A new, three-story building containing retail and commercial space as well as a 300-space parking garage will rise to take their place.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Caille Brothers Building
In 1888 the Caille Brothers invented and patented coin-slot devices which resulted in establishment of penny arcades. The brothers moved from Saginaw to Detroit in 1895 and worked out of this factory to establish their slot machine empire. 500 people worked there and it was the largest plant in the world for manufacture of coin controlled machines. Later they expanded their product line to include other items such as marine motors, scales, and the conveyor belts used in grocery stores. The Caille Brothers Company maintained branch offices in New York, Chicago and Paris. The Building has been transformed into phase two of the Lofts at New Amsterdam.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
71 Garfield
Garfield Manor at 71 Garfield has been converted into combined housing and studio space for artists. It will contain 20 residential units and 20 studios. The complex is green. Geothermal, solar and wind and water retention systems will reduce net energy consumption and the waste stream to near zero.
*Note* Please ignore the color differences in the brick. I'm not sure how much the difference is from clean up or from my exposure.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Whitewash
Rather than doing any substantial work on Film Exchange Building, the owner decided to dump a few hundred gallons of white paint on the building and call it a day.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Piquette Square
Work is wrapping up on Piquette Square, a 150-unit, four-story, mixed-use development being built on the site of the Studebaker Factory in Milwaukee-Junction. The building will provide housing for homeless veterans and supportive services, as well as ground floor commercial space.
The Studebaker site after the factory was destroyed by fire in June, 2005.
