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The Harmonie Centre, also known as the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building, is an eight-story commercial building located at 1308 Broadway Street (at the corner of Broadway and Gratiot) in Downtown Detroit. It is part of the Broadway Avenue Historic District. It is also known as the Tobin Building. The building was listed on the
The Breitmeyer–Tobin Building was built in 1906 P. 48. for John Breitmeyer Sons, Florists, who were at the time the leading florists in Detroit.Breitmeyer-Tobin Building
from the city of Detroit The firm's president,
from Detroit1701.org and ten years later, in the depths of the Great Depression, the building was 75% unoccupied; the main tenant was the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, who occupied the top floor. Metropolitan was notable for its willingness to write small insurance policies for African Americans. At around the same time, the owners of the building opened up office space to rental by African Americans; the building was one of the first downtown to do so. In 1944, Benjamin Tobin acquired the building, renamed it the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building, and marketed the office space to black professionals. Notable African American firms had offices in the building, including the
''African American historic places,'' John Wiley and Sons, 1995, , , pp. 285–286. It includes glazed terra cotta elements.
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 ...
in 1980. The ''east necklace'' of downtown links Grand Circus and the stadium area to Greektown
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Ista ...
along Broadway. The east necklace contains a sub-district sometimes called the ''Harmonie Park District,'' which has taken on the renowned legacy of Detroit's music from the 1930s through the 1950s and into the present.
History
The Breitmeyer–Tobin Building was built in 1906 P. 48. for John Breitmeyer Sons, Florists, who were at the time the leading florists in Detroit.Breitmeyer-Tobin Buildingfrom the city of Detroit The firm's president,
Philip Breitmeyer
Philip Breitmeyer (May 13, 1864 – November 8, 1941) was a florist, one of the founders of Florists' Telegraph Delivery (now Florists' Transworld Delivery, or FTD), and the mayor of Detroit, Michigan.
Biography
Philip Breitmeyer was born in ...
, served as the mayor of Detroit from 1909 to 1911.
In 1926, the ownership of the building was transferred to the Peninsular Bank Company, and the building was renamed the Peninsular Bank Building. The bank failed,Breitmeyer-Tobin Buildingfrom Detroit1701.org and ten years later, in the depths of the Great Depression, the building was 75% unoccupied; the main tenant was the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, who occupied the top floor. Metropolitan was notable for its willingness to write small insurance policies for African Americans. At around the same time, the owners of the building opened up office space to rental by African Americans; the building was one of the first downtown to do so. In 1944, Benjamin Tobin acquired the building, renamed it the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building, and marketed the office space to black professionals. Notable African American firms had offices in the building, including the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Founded in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railwa ...
(the largest Black union in America at the time); P. 22. the law firm of Loomis, Jones, Piper and Colden; attorney Harold Bledsoe; optometrists William H. and Lloyd Lawson; and future judges Damon Keith and Hobart Taylor Jr.
The building has recently been refurbished, with commercial space on the first floor and various offices in the upper floors.
Description
The eight-story building, designed by the architectural firm of Raseman & Fischer, is an unusual Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts building from the turn of the century.Beth L. Savage, Carol D. Shull, United States National Park Service, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, Preservation Press''African American historic places,'' John Wiley and Sons, 1995, , , pp. 285–286. It includes glazed terra cotta elements.
See also
*Harmonie Club (Detroit, Michigan) *Music of DetroitReferences
{{Architecture of metropolitan Detroit African-American history in Detroit Office buildings in Detroit Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1905 Historic district contributing properties in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Floral industry 1905 establishments in Michigan