The Cadillac Tower is a 40-story,

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

of Bonnah & Chaffee at 65 Cadillac Square in

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, not far from the

Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen) is a group of seven connected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. The Renaissance Center complex is on the Detroit International Riv ...

. The building's materials include

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

and

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. It was built in 1927 as Barlum Tower. At the top of the tower is a tall

guyed mast A guyed mast or guyed tower is a tall thin vertical structure that depends on guy lines (diagonal tensioned cables attached to the ground) for stability. The mast itself has the compressive strength to support its own weight, but does not ha ...

for local radio stations

WMXD WMXD (92.3 FM ''Mix 92.3'') is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station operates with 45,000 watts of power from an antenna located on the Cadillac Tower building in downtown Detroit. The studio ...

, WLLZ and television station

WLPC-CD WLPC-CD, virtual and UHF digital channel 28, is a low-powered, Class A religious television station serving Detroit, Michigan, United States that is licensed to Redford. The station is owned by Glenn and Karin Plummer. On cable, the station ...

. It was listed on 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 ...

in 2005.

History

Cadillac Tower was the first building outside

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to have 40 floors, including two below ground. The building also houses the city of Detroit's Planning and Development Department, and its Recreation Department. Cadillac Tower's decorative cornices and parapets are of varying heights. The corner spires rise to a height of , and the spires at the middle façade rise to the same height of the mechanical penthouse at . Nine years before the Cadillac Tower was constructed, the 20-storey

Cadillac Square Building The Cadillac Square Building (also known as the Real Estate Exchange Building) was a building located at 17 Cadillac Square in Detroit, Michigan. It was constructed in 1918, and opened in 1919. It stood at 20 floors, with two basement floors, for a ...

existed immediately to its west. This is why relatively few windows were installed on the west side of the Cadillac Tower. From 1994 to 2000, one side of the building featured a 14-story mural of

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

star player

Barry Sanders Barry Sanders (born July 16, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), from 1989 to 1998 for the Detroit Lions. Sanders led the league in rushing yards four times and ...

. The mural was retired after a six-year deal with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

expired. That mural was then replaced with one of

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

star

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

. Currently the building features an ad for the

MGM Grand Detroit The MGM Grand Detroit is one of three casino resort hotels in Detroit, Michigan, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The casino opened in its temporary location ...

Casino featuring a lion. In January 2008, the City of Detroit and Cadillac Tower's owner Northern Group, Inc., announced plans for

Cadillac Centre Cadillac Centre was a proposed contemporary complex to be constructed in downtown Detroit, Michigan on the Monroe block of Campus Martius.Kavanaugh, Kelli B. (January 8, 2008Development News:Architecturally daring Cadillac Centre announced, will ...

, a $150-million mixed-use residential entertainment-retail complex attached to the skyscraper. Designed by architect Anthony Caradonna, the contemporary steel and glass 24-story center would have filled in the currently vacant Monroe Block adjacent to

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...

. This project was put on indefinite hold ultimately being replaced by Meridian Health Plan's future headquarters. In November 2021, Bedrock, a real estate firm owned by mega-developer Dan Gilbert, purchased the tower. Plans have not been disclosed whether it will be a standalone project or be incorporated into a redevelopment of the Monroe Blocks.

Gallery

File:CadillaclookingupDetroit.jpg, Looking up from

Cadillac Square Campus Martius Park ( ') is a re-established park in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. After the fire of 1805, Campus Martius (from the Latin for ''Field of Mars'', where Roman heroes walked) was the focal point of Judge Augustus Woodward's plans to ...

File:CadillacTowerDetroit2.jpg, File:CadillacTowerDetroit.jpg, Cadillac Tower from Greektown File:CadillacSquareParkdetroit.jpg,

File:CadillacTowerDetroit3.jpg,

References

External links

Official Cadillac Tower website
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan Skyscraper office buildings in Detroit Downtown Detroit Office buildings completed in 1927 Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Historic district contributing properties in Michigan 1927 establishments in Michigan 1920s architecture in the United States Gothic Revival architecture in Michigan Chicago school architecture in Michigan

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links