The Madison-Lenox Hotel was a hotel complex located at 200-246 Madison Street in

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 ...

History

Originally designed as the Madison Hotel by F.C. Pollmar in 1900 and the Lenox Hotel by A.C. Varney in 1903. A two-story building between the two hotels later connected the pair, creating the Madison-Lenox Hotel.Madison-Lenox Hotel
''Historic Detroit''. Retrieved on December 8, 2013. The buildings were last occupied during the 1990s. The hotels stood at the south-west corner of Madison Street and East Grand River Avenue, across the street from the

Detroit Athletic Club The Detroit Athletic Club (often referred to as the DAC) is a private social club and athletic club located in the heart of Detroit's theater, sports, and entertainment district. It is located across the street from Detroit's historic Music Hall ...

. In 1985, theater actor

Council Cargle Council Cargle (February 8, 1935 – January 2, 2013) was an American stage and film actor, whose career in theater spanned more than six decades. Based in Detroit, Cargle was described as one of the "best-known theater actors" in the U.S. state ...

and his wife,

Maggie Porter Maggie Porter Cole (1853–1942) was a first-generation-freed slave, and she is most notable as an original member of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, one of only four members to participate in all three of the original tours by the group. She was known ...

, founded the 40-seat Harmonie Park Playhouse in the

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

of the Madison-Lenox Hotel. The basement theater, which had previously been utilized as a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

shop and

artist studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...

, was used for

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions until the theater's closure in 1990.

Demolition

In 2004 a group led by sport team owner

Mike Ilitch Michael Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American entrepreneur, founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tig ...

submitted requests for the building's demolition to Detroit's Historic District Commission (HDC). These requests were quickly denied and the building stood. Despite offers by developers interested in the building, Ilitch declined to sell the property, preferring to demolish the structures to create a parking lot. Both the City of Detroit and Ilitch were hoping to get the building demolished and the land cleared before Detroit hosted

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

on February 5, 2006. In 2004, the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

added the building to its annual list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The May 2005 demolition by Adamo Group was the subject of significant controversy. Though demolition permits had been denied the city government pressed for the building's destruction nevertheless, stating that the structure was in danger of collapse. Preservation groups fought the demolition with a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

a few hours after work commenced, but later that day a judge allowed the demolition to continue. Even though the HDC had originally denied demolition permits they did not oppose the move. The whole structure was gone within a week. The building was the second on the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places" to be demolished. The property is still held by

Ilitch Holdings Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National H ...

and is currently used as a parking lot. The gated parking area is serviced by

Olympia Entertainment Olympia Entertainment is an American sports and entertainment company headquartered in the Fox Theatre in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Olympia is a division of Ilitch Holdings, and owned by Marian Ilitch. It owns or manages the Detroit Red Wings, ...

and chiefly serves

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

References

{{Reflist 1900 establishments in Michigan 1903 establishments in Michigan 2005 disestablishments in Michigan Hotel buildings completed in 1900 Hotel buildings completed in 1903 Buildings and structures demolished in 2005 Demolished hotels in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Detroit Defunct hotels in the United States