Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1878 – November 30, 1946) was an American
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
best known for his work in
Detroit, Michigan
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 ...
.
Biography
Rowland was born December 1, 1878, in
Clinton, Michigan, to Clinton Charles and Melissa Ruth Rowland. In 1901, he landed a job as an office boy for the
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 ...
firm of
Rogers and MacFarlane, quickly moving on to the prestigious
George D. Mason
George DeWitt Mason (July 4, 1856 – June 3, 1948) was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.
Biography
George Mason was born in Syracuse, New Yo ...
firm.
In 1909, he joined the office of
Albert Kahn Associates, who had also apprenticed under Mason. In 1910, with the encouragement of both Mason and Kahn, Rowland attended the
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...
in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, for a year.
[
The combination of Rowland's natural design talent, Harvard education, and Detroit's healthy economy positioned him to make major contributions to the city's architecture. Rowland is a case study in design attribution. In 1911, in the office of Kahn, he and ]Ernest Wilby
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
* Ernest, ...
are said have been primarily responsible for the Hill Auditorium
Hill Auditorium is the largest performance venue on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill (1847-1909), who served as a regent of the university from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathe ...
at the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Through 1915, Rowland worked for the local firm of Malcomson & Higginbotham. He then returned to Kahn's office, contributing to the firm's classic projects, namely the Harland Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, the Detroit News Building, the First National Building (1922), and the General Motors Building (1922) renamed 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 L ...
.[
Rowland's career peaked as Head Designer (1922–1930) of ]Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in Detroit in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that ...
(SmithGroup). There, he designed a dozen major structures in downtown Detroit; among these are a number of the city's most accomplished and evocative buildings. To a large extent, Rowland helped define Detroit's architectural genre.[ Of the Guardian building Rowland said, ''We no longer live in a leisurely age, . . What we see we must see quickly in passing, and the impression must be immediate, strong, and complete. Color has this vital power.'' For the Guardian Building, he had assembled a multitude of artisans, mosaicists, sculptors, painters, and tile manufacturers including sculptor Corrado Parducci, muralist Ezra Winter, and tile from the Rookwood and Pewabic pottery companies.][ He thus recreated the architectural synthesis of a medieval cathedral. Hence, Rowland had reached a climax, when his Union Trust/Guardian Building became known as ''the Cathedral of Finance.''][Zacharias, Pat (March 10, 2001). "Guardian Building has long been the crown jewel in the Detroit skyline." Michigan History, ''Detroit News''. Retrieved on June 2, 2008.]
The Guardian Building opened in 1929. With the onset of 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 ...
, most of the employees of Smith Hinchman & Grylls were let go, including Rowland. In January 1931, he joined in a partnership with his long-time friend, Augustus (Gus) O'Dell. The firm secured a small number of important commissions, including the Victor Vaughan House dormitory at the University of Michigan, Maire Elementary School in Grosse Pointe, and the Mark Twain Branch Library in Detroit, supplemented with reconstruction necessitated by the widening of Woodward Avenue, and by insurance re-valuations of existing buildings.
Beginning in 1935, Rowland was hired by Edwin S. George to design a Gothic cathedral, later known as Kirk in the Hills. The church was to have been constructed on land owned by George adjoining his suburban home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, however, the funds available were insufficient to proceed with construction. In 1946, George realized that by incorporating his existing suburban home into the church to house administrative activities, the cost of construction would be greatly reduced. Rowland approved of this revision, but died before he could redraw the plans. The firm of George D. Mason & Co. was hired in 1947 to draw new plans for the church and oversee construction and the church was completed in 1958.
Rowland was a member of the Chandler Park Partnership, a group of nineteen architects and engineers that designed Parkside housing project (1935–1938) in Detroit. During World War II, Rowland was employed by the firm Giffels & Valet in their office at Naval Station Norfolk. Among the structures he designed during that period was the David Adams Memorial Chapel and Our Lady of Victory Chapel in the base chapel building.
Rowland Designed Structures
* T. B. Rayl Company Building (1915) Woodward Avenue
A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to:
Places
;United States
* Woodward, Iowa
* Woodward, Oklahoma
* Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place
* Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...
, Detroit, Michigan; designed by Rowland for Baxter and O'Dell, featured an early use of colored terra-cotta.[
]
Designs for George D. Mason, 1902 to 1909
* Pontchartrain Hotel (1907), Detroit, Michigan
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 ...
Designs for Malcomson & Higginbotham, 1912 to 1915
* Northern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan[
* Southeastern High School (1915), Detroit, Michigan][
* Isabell F. Thirkell Elementary School (1915), ]Virginia Park Historic District
The Virginia Park Historic District is located on the north side of New Center, an area in Detroit, Michigan, along both sides of Virginia Park Street from Woodward Avenue to the John C. Lodge Freeway access road. The district was listed on th ...
, Detroit, Michigan
* Northeastern High School (1916), Detroit, Michigan
* Anna M. Joyce School (1916), Detroit, Michigan
* Nordstrum School (1916), Detroit, Michigan[
* Harms Elementary School (1917), Detroit, Michigan][
]
Designs for Albert Kahn Associates, 1910, and 1915 to 1922
* Hill Auditorium
Hill Auditorium is the largest performance venue on the University of Michigan campus, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The auditorium was named in honor of Arthur Hill (1847-1909), who served as a regent of the university from 1901 to 1909. He bequeathe ...
(with Ernest Wilby) (1913), University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Harlan Hatcher University of Michigan Library (with Ernest Wilby) (1915–1920), Ann Arbor, Michigan[Letter from Wirt C. Rowland to The Harvard Architectural School Alumni Association, dated March 24, 1932. Available online at]
Wirt Rowland - A Short Biography
Retrieved on June 17, 2012.
* Langley Field Hangars and Executive Buildings, including the current Air Combat Command
Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
Headquarters Building (1917), Point Comfort, Virginia
* Rockwell Field
Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California.
This airfield ...
(now part of Naval Air Station, North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...
) Hangars, Guard House, and Officers Homes (1917), Coronado, California
Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city located in San Diego County, California, United States, across the San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 24,697 at the ...
[
* General Motors Building (1919-1923), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design]
* First National Building (first unit-1922), Detroit, Michigan, preliminary work and exterior design
Designs for Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, 1922 to 1930
* Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church (1926), Detroit, Michigan
* Bankers Trust Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
* Buhl Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
* Second National Bank Building (1925), Saginaw, 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 ...
* George H. Phelps Advertising Building (1925), 2761 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan[
* Grand Rapids Trust Building (1926), ]Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
* Benjamin Nolan School (1926), 1150 E. Lantz St., Detroit, Michigan[
* Michigan Bell Building (1927), Detroit, Michigan, 12-story addition and commercial office updates to original 7-story, 1919 building
* David Mackenzie High School (1927)(demolished), Detroit, Michigan
* ]Ambassador Bridge
The Ambassador Bridge is a tolled international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, it is the busiest international border crossing in North ...
(1927-1929) Cable Anchorage Piers, and Terminal Buildings (demolished)[
* Michigan Bell Detroit-Columbia Central Office Building, 52 Seldon St., Detroit, Michigan][
* Greater ]Penobscot Building
The Greater Penobscot Building, commonly known as the Penobscot Building, is a class-A office tower in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Constructed in 1928, the Art Deco building is located in the heart of the Detroit Financial District. The Penobsc ...
(1928), Detroit, Michigan
* Pontchartrain Club Building/Town Apartments (begun 1928, not completed; later converted to Town Apartments), Detroit, Michigan
* Union Trust/Guardian Building (1929), Detroit, Michigan
* Cunningham Drug Building (1929), 1134 Griswold St., and 25 State St., Detroit, Michigan[
* Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse (1930), 82 Oakman Blvd., Detroit, Michigan][
* Detroit Saturday Night Building (1929), 1959 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, Michigan][
* ]Denby High School
The Edwin C. Denby High School is a public secondary education school located at 12800 Kelly Road in northeastern Detroit, Michigan. Denby High opened in 1930, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It i ...
(1930), Detroit, Michigan[Original Smith, Hinchman & Grylls building plans for Denby and Pershing high schools.]
* Pershing High School (1930), Detroit, Michigan
* Union Industrial Bank Building/Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building (1930), Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...
[
* Michigan Bell Saginaw Office Building (1930), 309 S. Washington Ave., ]Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...
[
]
Designs for O'Dell and Rowland, 1931 to 1938
* L. Black Co. store (1932), 1420 Woodward Ave., Detroit, Michigan
* Good Housekeeping Stran-Steel House (1933) for the 1933 Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition
The Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition was part of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The Fair's theme that year was a Century of Progress, and celebrated man's innovations in architecture, science, technology and transportation. The "Homes of Tomorrow" e ...
at the Century of Progress International Exposition, Chicago, Illinois[''Chicago Daily Tribune'', June 4, 1933, p. E7.]
* "Ideal Home" for Detroit Builders' Show of 1933, Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
* Lewis A. Maire Elementary School (1936), Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Grosse Pointe is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,421.
Grosse Pointe is an eastern suburb of Metro Detroit along Lake ...
* Stevens Memorial Chapel - chancel section, including altar, reredos, and organ screen (1938), St. John's Episcopal Church, Detroit, Michigan
* Victor C. Vaughn House dormitory, University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
(1938), Ann Arbor, Michigan
----
Image:GuardianBldgDetroit.jpg, 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 serves ...
flying the American Flag over the Detroit Financial District
The Detroit Financial District is a United States historic district (United States), historic district in Downtown Detroit, downtown Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroi ...
.
File:Buhl Building.jpg, Buhl Building, in the shadow of the Penobscot Building
The Greater Penobscot Building, commonly known as the Penobscot Building, is a class-A office tower in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Constructed in 1928, the Art Deco building is located in the heart of the Detroit Financial District. The Penobsc ...
Image:KitHRowland.jpg, Wirt Rowland
by Corrado Parducci
Image:PenobscotIndian1.jpg, Penboscot Building Indian by Corrado Parducci
File:Penobscot Bldg archway.jpg, Looking up from the Penobscot Building's entrance arch
Notes
References and further reading
*Ferry, W. Hawkins (1968). ''The Buildings of Detroit: A History''. Wayne State University Press.
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External links
Wirt Clinton Rowland from the Historical Society of Clinton
Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church's Architectural Elements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowland, Wirt C.
1878 births
1946 deaths
American architects
Art Deco architects
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni