The Boji Tower, also known as the Michigan National Bank Building, is a historic 23-story building located at 124 Allegan Street, in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. It has been the tallest building in Lansing since its completion in 1931. On December 6, 2005, the building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Capital Bank Tower.

History

The tower was originally constructed as the Olds Tower, named after the automotive industrialist,

Ransom Eli Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-power ...

, who was the main financier of the tower project, assisted by Edmund C. Shields of the local law firm of Thomas Shields & Silsbee. Shortly thereafter it was renamed Capital National Bank Tower, after the bank that

helped form. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid on November 14, 1929. It became the Michigan National Bank Tower in 1954, and held that name until 2001 when Standard Federal Bank purchased

Michigan National Bank Michigan National Bank was a bank founded in Lansing, Michigan, which was established on 31 December 1940 when Howard J Stoddard consolidated six Michigan banks: First National Bank and Trust Company of Grand Rapids, First National Trust and S ...

. At the request of Standard Federal, the owners of the tower removed the historic neon 'Michigan National' sign in that year. After four-and-a-half years without a name, the Boji family, a father and son development team of Iraqi descent who owned the tower since 1998, renamed it the Boji Tower in 2005. The tower has been through one major expansion which occurred between 1965 and 1967, which include the addition of an 11-story annex built directly adjacent to the front of the tower. The tower has undergone multiple minor renovations since 1998 under the Boji Group's ownership. In November 2007, the building's original antenna tower for

WITL-FM WITL-FM (100.7 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Lansing, Michigan, and serving Ingham, Eaton and Clinton Counties in Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1961 (as WMRT-FM) alongside daytime only s ...

was replaced via helicopter with a new antenna for WJZL (Now

WLMI WLMI is a radio station licensed to Grand Ledge, Michigan, serving Lansing. Owned by Midwest Communications, it broadcasts a classic hits format branded as ''Cruisin 92.9''. History What is now WLMI began life as WCER-FM in Charlotte, Michi ...

Description

At 23 stories, and , the brick and limestone-faced tower, with its tall, narrow profile topped with a spire and beacon, is a typical American skyscraper design of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

era of high-rise architecture. It includes four engraved panels in the portals of the main passenger elevators that reflect themes of labor and industry. The tower's facade consists of 654,000 bricks of 17 different colors. The building is occupied by a mix of office, retail, and government tenants. The two-story former banking lobby is now used as the main hearing room for the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

. The sculpture on the building, including the doors, was created by

Ulysses Ricci Ulysses Anthony Ricci (1888–1960) was an American sculptor known primarily for his architectural sculpture. Born in New York City, Ricci was an apprentice at the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Works in New Jersey from 1902 to 1906. He studied at ...

Photo gallery

Image:Lansing, Michigan Boji Tower.jpg, View from Grand Avenue Image:BojiTower.jpg File:Boji Tower, west side.jpg, West side File:State Govt Complex.jpg, View of State Government Complex from Boji Tower

References

External links

Official website

Boji Tower at Emporis.com
{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Lansing, Michigan Art Deco architecture in Michigan Office buildings completed in 1931 Buildings and structures in Lansing, Michigan Iraqi-American history Skyscrapers in Lansing, Michigan Skyscraper office buildings in Michigan 1931 establishments in Michigan