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The Fisher Building is a
landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
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-ri ...
located at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in the heart of the
New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area ...
area of
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 t ...
,
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 t ...
. The ornate 30-story building, completed in 1928, is one of the major works of architect Albert Kahn, and is designed in an
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 Unit ...
style, faced with
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
,
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...
, and several types of
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
. The Fisher family financed the building with proceeds from the sale of
Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally All ...
to
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
. It was designed to house office and retail space. The building, which contains the elaborate 2,089-seat Fisher Theatre, was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...
on June 29, 1989. It also houses the headquarters for the Detroit Public Schools and the studios of radio stations WJR, WDVD, and WDRQ.


History

Initially, architect
Joseph Nathaniel French Joseph Nathaniel French, Sr. (October 24, 1888 – February 28, 1975) was an architect with Albert Kahn Associates from 1914 to 1967. He was the chief architect for the Fisher Building in Detroit, Michigan. Biography He was born on October ...
of Albert Kahn Associates planned for a complex of three buildings, with two 30-story structures flanking a 60-story tower. However, the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
caused the project to be scaled back to a single tower. The Fisher brothers located the building across from the General Motors Building, now
Cadillac Place Cadillac Place, formerly the General Motors Building, is a landmark high-rise office complex located at 3044 West Grand Boulevard in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was renamed for the French founder of Detroit, Antoine Laumet de ...
, as General Motors had recently purchased the
Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally All ...
Company. The two massive buildings spurred the development of a New Center for the city, a business district north of its downtown area. The building's hipped roof was originally covered with gold leaf tiles, but during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
these tiles were covered in asphalt because it was feared that the reflective surface would attract enemy bombers. After the war, the asphalt could not be removed from the gold tiles without harming them, so they were replaced with green tiles. Since the 1980s, these tiles have been illuminated at night with colored lights to give them a gold appearance. On St. Patrick's Day, the lights are changed to green and, in recent years, to celebrate the NHL playoffs, the tower is illuminated with red lights in honor of the
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 in the Eastern Conference, and are ...
. In 1974, Tri-Star Development purchased the Fisher Building and adjoining New Center Building for approximately $20 million. In 2001, FK Acquisition LLC, a real estate firm based in Southfield, purchased the two buildings from TrizecHahn Corporation for $31 million. FK Acquisition LLC lost the buildings to its lender in 2015. In 2002, Detroit Public Schools (DPS) paid the owner of the Fisher Building $24.1 million to purchase five floors to house administrative offices, citing the high cost of renovations needed at the Maccabees Building, the previous headquarters, to comply with building and safety codes. In July 2015, Southfield-based developer Redico LLC, in partnership with HFZ Capital Group of New York City and Peter Cummings of The Platform, a Detroit-based development company, taking advantage of the general decline in Detroit real estate values, purchased the Fisher Building and adjacent Albert Kahn Building, plus 2,000 parking spaces in two parking structures and three surface lots in New Center for only $12.2 million at auction. Redico said the partnership plans to transform the two buildings, which are connected by an underground pedestrian concourse, into what it called a "true urban" mixed-use development, with a mix of office, retail, residential and entertainment uses. The multi-year project has a potential cost of $70 million to $80 million in addition to the purchase price. The Redico interest was purchased by Cummings and his partner in The Platform, Dietrich Knoer, in 2016.


Architecture

The Fisher Building rises 30 stories with a roof height of , a top floor height of , and the spire reaching . The building has 21 elevators. Albert Kahn and Associates designed the building with
Joseph Nathaniel French Joseph Nathaniel French, Sr. (October 24, 1888 – February 28, 1975) was an architect with Albert Kahn Associates from 1914 to 1967. He was the chief architect for the Fisher Building in Detroit, Michigan. Biography He was born on October ...
serving as chief architect. French took inspiration from Eliel Saarinen's Tribune Tower design of 1922, seen in the emphasis on verticality and the stepped-back upper stories. The building is unlike any other Albert Kahn production. It has been called "Detroit's largest art object". In 1929, the Architectural League of New York honored the Fisher Building with a silver medal in architecture. The opulent three-story
barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
ed lobby is constructed with forty different kinds of marble, decorated by Hungarian artist Géza Maróti, and is highly regarded by architects. The sculpture on the exterior of the building was supplied by several sculptors including Maróti, Corrado Parducci, Anthony De Lorenzo and Ulysses Ricci. File:Fisherb1.jpg, File:Fisherb16.jpg, File:Fisher Building Lobby (4634810509).jpg, Arcade and theatre entrance File:New Center Park (4669324582).jpg, File:GrandBoulevardNewCenterDetroit.jpg, File:Detroit December 2021 12 (Fisher Building).jpg,


Radio

Designs called for two flagpoles atop the gilt roof. While they were installed, they were essentially unusable as a radio antenna was installed when one of the building's oldest tenants, radio station WJR, leased space in December 1928. On-air hosts often mention that broadcasts originate "from the golden tower of the Fisher Building." This was a requirement of the station's original lease in exchange for a nominal rent. Two other radio stations, WDVD-FM (the former WJR-FM) and WDRQ-FM, also have broadcast studios in the building. In 1970, building employees discovered a storage room sealed with tape. None of the staff knew what the room contained or why it was sealed. When they located the key, they found the flags of 75 nations that apparently were created in 1928 and intended to be flown for foreign visitors.


Fisher Theatre

The building also is home to the Fisher Theatre, one of Detroit's oldest live theatre venues. The theatre, designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm of Anker S. Graven & Arthur G. Mayger, originally featured a lavish
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
-themed interior in the Mayan Revival style, and once had Mexican-Indian art,
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...
trees, and live
macaw Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild. Biology Of the many differ ...
s that its patrons could feed. After the Depression, the theatre operated primarily as a movie house until 1961. Originally containing 3,500 seats, the interior was renovated into a 2,089-seat playhouse that allowed for more spacious seating and lobbies for patrons at a cost of $3.5 million. The decor was changed to a simple mid-century design. The Nederlander Organization opened the "new" Fisher Theatre October 2, 1961 and operated it until April 2021 when it sold the venue to the Ambassador Theatre Group. It primarily features traveling productions of Broadway shows and has hosted numerous out-of-town tryouts. Pre-Broadway Engagements at the Fisher: * 1961: '' The Gay Life'' * 1962: '' No Strings'', '' Bravo Giovanni'', '' Oliver!'' * 1963: ''Sophie'', '' Here's Love'', '' Jennie'', '' Hello, Dolly!'' * 1964: '' Foxy'', '' Fiddler on the Roof'', '' Golden Boy'', '' I Had a Ball'' * 1965: '' Pleasures and Palaces'', '' Pickwick'', ''
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-ri ...
'', '' Sweet Charity'' * 1966: ''Pousse-Café'', '' Walking Happy'' * 1967: '' Illya Darling'', '' Henry, Sweet Henry'' * 1968: '' George M!'', '' I'm Solomon'', '' Lovers and Other Strangers'', '' Maggie Flynn'' * 1969: ''
La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman (Giulietta Masina) bought from her mother ...
'' * 1970: ''
Applause Applause ( Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performanc ...
'', '' The Rothschilds'', ''Not Now, Darling'' * 1972: ''Tricks'' * 1973: '' Seesaw'', '' Lorelei'', ''Turtlenecks'', '' Gigi'' * 1974: '' Good News'', '' London Assurance'', '' The Wiz'' * 1979: '' Sugar Babies'', '' Oklahoma!'' * 1982: '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' * 1986: '' Into the Light'' * 1996: '' Big''


Art

Befitting the Fisher Building's history in association with art, three nationally recognized fine-art galleries have occupied space in the structure including the Gertrude Kasle Gallery and London Fine Arts Group. * Gertrude Kasle Gallery: Located in Suite 310 of the Fisher Building from 1965 to 1976 was a nationally recognized fine-art gallery hosting exhibits for some of the most highly respected artists of the second half of the 20th century including Willem de Kooning, Jim Dine,
Helen Frankenthaler Helen Frankenthaler (December 12, 1928 – December 27, 2011) was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades (early 1950s u ...
, Robert Goodnough, Adolph Gottlieb,
Phillip Guston Philip Guston (born Phillip Goldstein, June 27, 1913 – June 7, 1980), was a Canadian American painter, printmaker, muralist and draftsman. Early in his five decade career, muralist David Siquieros described him as one of "the most promising ...
, Grace Hartigan,
Ian Hornak Ian Hornak (January 9, 1944 – December 9, 2002) was an American draughtsman, painter and printmaker. He was one of the founding artists of the Hyperrealist and Photorealist fine art movements; credited with having been the first Photorea ...
, Ray Johnson,
Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of the New York School, which also inc ...
, Lowell Nesbitt, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg and
Jack Tworkov Jack Tworkov (15 August 1900 – 4 September 1982) was an American abstract expressionist painter. Biography Yakov Tworkovsky, more commonly known as Jack Tworkov, was born in Biała Podlaska on the border between Poland and the Russian Empi ...
. * London Fine Arts Group: Located in a large portion of the third floor of the Fisher Building during the 1970s and 1980s, London Fine Arts Group acted as a publishing company assisting in producing limited edition art works for many internationally recognized artists including Yaacov Agam, Karel Appel,
Arman Arman (November 17, 1928 – October 22, 2005) was a French-born American artist. Born Armand Fernandez in Nice, France, Arman was a painter who moved from using objects for the ink or paint traces they leave (''cachets'', ''allures d'objet'') to ...
, Romare Bearden, Gene Davis,
Don Eddy Don Eddy (born 1944) is a contemporary representational painter.Martin, Alvin. "Spaces of the Mind: New paintings by Don Eddy," ''Arts'', February 1987, p. 22–3.Baker, Kenneth"Don Eddy,"''Artforum'', March 1972. Retrieved March 4, 2021. He ga ...
, Alberto Giacometti,
Ian Hornak Ian Hornak (January 9, 1944 – December 9, 2002) was an American draughtsman, painter and printmaker. He was one of the founding artists of the Hyperrealist and Photorealist fine art movements; credited with having been the first Photorea ...
, Lester Johnson,
Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who ...
, Richard Lindner, Roberto Matta, Lowell Nesbitt, Robert Rauschenberg, Harry Bertoia, Donald Sultan,
Victor Vasarely Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consid ...
and
Larry Zox Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boon ...
.


Tenants

* Detroit Public Schools ** 4th floor: Department of State and Federal Programs (Suite 450) ** 6th floor: Office of the Secretary of the Board of Education ** 9th floor: *** Office of Athletics *** Office of Literacy *** Multilingual-Multicultural Education in DPS (Suite 119) *** Office of Specialized Student Services (Special Education) *** Office of Innovation ** 10th floor: *** Division of Talent (Human Resources) *** Division of Labor Relations *** Division of Technology and Information Services (Suit 1000) ** 11th floor: *** Division of Finance *** Payroll Department *** Office of Risk Management (Suite 1100) ** 14th floor: Main Administration *** Office of the Emergency Manager *** Office of the Inspector General *** Operations Group * Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan ** 1st Floor: Council Shop "Detroit Service Center / Council Shop 3011 W. Grand Blvd. 500 Fisher Bldg. Detroit, MI 48202 ..HOP HOURS (1st Floor):" ** 5th Floor: Office * Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation - Suite 218 * City Bakery **A Detroit shop of the famous New York City-based company. *The Allen Law Group, PC - Suite 2500 In 2017 The Platform LLC converted the fourth floor into rental space for arts-based groups.


See also

*
Cadillac Place Cadillac Place, formerly the General Motors Building, is a landmark high-rise office complex located at 3044 West Grand Boulevard in the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. It was renamed for the French founder of Detroit, Antoine Laumet de ...
*
Guardian Building The Guardian Building is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located at 500 Griswold Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Financial District. The Guardian is a class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan and s ...
* Albert Kahn Building * Pewabic Pottery * List of tallest buildings in Detroit * List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan * National Register of Historic Places listings in Downtown and Midtown Detroit


References

; Notes ; Bibliography * * * * *


External links

*
Fisher Building website
* *
Metro Times review of American City: Detroit Architecture

Boxoffice Magazine 1962 story on Fisher Theatre remodel

Motion Picture News 1929 Fisher Theatre pictorial
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Art Deco architecture in Michigan Art Deco skyscrapers Arts centers in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1928 Albert Kahn (architect) buildings Buildings with sculpture by Corrado Parducci Concert halls in Michigan Culture of Detroit Event venues established in 1929 Mayan Revival architecture National Historic Landmarks in Metro Detroit National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Skyscraper office buildings in Detroit Performing arts centers in Michigan Theatres in Detroit 1928 establishments in Michigan Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Detroit Public Schools Community District