Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building
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The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building (formerly the Union Industrial Bank Building) is a 16-story
office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
high-rise building A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
in downtown
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 ...
. It is the tallest building in the city. Designed by
Wirt C. Rowland Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1878 – November 30, 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan. Biography Rowland was born December 1, 1878, in Clinton, Michigan, to Clinton Charles and Melissa Ruth Ro ...
in 1928 and opened in 1930, it was built as the Union Industrial Bank Building to serve as the headquarters for
Union Industrial Bank Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. Rowland was considered innovative for his use of two materials in the building's construction: Nirosta (a type of
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
) for decorative purposes in the public spaces and
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
for its
storefront A storefront or shopfront is the facade or entryway of a retail store located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building, typically including one or more display windows. A storefront functions to attract visual attention to a bu ...
s and window frames. In 1944, Charles Stewart Mott bought the building, which has since served as the
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a private foundation founded in 1926 by Charles Stewart Mott of Flint, Michigan. Mott was a leading industrialist in Flint through his association with General Motors. The foundation administers funds thr ...
's headquarters and been renamed the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building. More recently, the building has appeared in the films '' Semi-Pro'' and ''
All's Faire in Love ''All's Faire in Love'' is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Scott Marshall and written by R. A. White and Jeffrey Ray Wine. The film stars Owen Benjamin as Will, a college student who is assigned to work at a renaissance fair by his ...
''. It is considered one of the most iconic structures in downtown Flint.


Background

Industrial Savings Bank Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
of
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 ...
, was founded in 1909. Throughout its history, it had prominent connections with the city's financial and business leaders: Charles Stewart Mott served as its president while Walter Chrysler was a director who was actively involved with its management. Industrial Savings Bank had become the largest bank in the city by 1928, and had outgrown its current headquarters, which had been built in 1923. Furthermore, it had an impending merger with Union Trust and Savings Bank, scheduled for May 1, 1929.


Design and construction

The Union Industrial Bank Building was designed in 1928 by
Wirt C. Rowland Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1878 – November 30, 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan. Biography Rowland was born December 1, 1878, in Clinton, Michigan, to Clinton Charles and Melissa Ruth Ro ...
, working for the
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 ...
firm, to serve as an office building as well as the headquarters for Union Industrial Bank. Designed in the
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 Unite ...
style, the building measures 16 stories tall. It is located at the corner of Saginaw Street and First Street in downtown Flint, and its street address is 503 South Saginaw Street. As the
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 ...
and 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 ...
, two
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 ...
buildings that he had largely designed, were nearing completion, Rowland was able to apply his innovative ideas from those projects to the Union Industrial Bank Building in Flint. The most innovative part of the Union Industrial Bank Building's design was Rowland's use of Nirosta (a type of
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
) for decorative purposes in the building's public spaces, most notably its banking hall and lobbies. Nirosta, which was a product of Krupp Steel Works of Germany, was easier to work and less expensive than Monel metal, which Rowland had employed similarly on the Guardian Building. On the exterior of the building, Rowland used black enamel-finished
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
for all exterior metal, which included
grille Grill or grille may refer to: Food * Barbecue grill, a device or surface used for cooking food, usually fuelled by gas or charcoal, or the part of a cooker that performs this function * Flattop grill, a cooking device often used in restaurants ...
s, spandrels,
storefront A storefront or shopfront is the facade or entryway of a retail store located on the ground floor or street level of a commercial building, typically including one or more display windows. A storefront functions to attract visual attention to a bu ...
s, and window frames. The use of aluminum for storefronts and window frames was considered innovative at the time. The black color was chosen to contrast with the appearance of the relatively light-colored
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 whe ...
cladding that formed the exterior of the building. Taking cues from his designs for both the Guardian Building and the Penobscot Building, Rowland alternated light bands with dark spandrels around the building's windows to separate them visually into groups, while similarly alternating between recessed and projecting bays on the building's 15th and 16th floors. The second floor of the building consists entirely of a large banking lobby, measuring by , that is somewhat similar in appearance to its larger counterpart in the Guardian Building. The banking lobby also featured a novel noise-reducing acoustical product from the Johns-Manville Company that is made of
canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
and
felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
. The Union Industrial Bank Building also prominently features
geometric shape A shape or figure is a graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, texture, or material type. A plane shape or plane figure is constrained to lie on ...
s used as decorative motifs, including a
hexagon In geometry, a hexagon (from Ancient Greek, Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple polygon, simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexa ...
pattern for the ceilings of the first-floor lobby and the basement safe deposit vault lobby as well as angled arches throughout the building. These geometric decorations, which appear both in the interior and on the exterior of the building, help give it a modern appearance. While Rowland had essentially completed the design for the building before the end of 1928, the pending merger of Industrial Savings Bank with Union Trust and Savings caused a delay in work on the project until May 1929, when the merger occurred. The drawings for the building were then completed in August 1929. By October, plans for an additional 17th story and a two-story club on the 16th and 17th floors with
dining room A dining room is a room (architecture), room for eating, consuming food. In modern times it is usually adjacent to the kitchen for convenience in serving, although in medieval times it was often on an entirely different floor level. Historically ...
s, lounges,
porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
es, and a
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
were completed. However, the
Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
and an
embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
scandal at Union Industrial Bank ultimately convinced the bank's directors to scrap the club proposal and revert to the 16-story design for the building. During the fall of 1929, demolition of the existing building on the property at 503 South Saginaw Street began. After a little over a year of construction, the Union Industrial Bank Building was opened on December 15, 1930. It would be the last
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 ...
that Rowland designed.


Later history

In 1944, Charles Stewart Mott bought the Union Industrial Bank Building for $25,000. It has served as the
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a private foundation founded in 1926 by Charles Stewart Mott of Flint, Michigan. Mott was a leading industrialist in Flint through his association with General Motors. The foundation administers funds thr ...
's headquarters since then. On January 1, 1945, the building was renamed the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Building. Exterior maintenance of the building has been provided by Detroit-based Grunwell–Cashero Company since the 1960s, and it has been done on an annual basis since 1990. The Mott Foundation Building would be the last
office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
high-rise building A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...
constructed in downtown Flint until 1968, when Genesee Towers was completed. The two buildings, which were located immediately next to each other, were both close to in height. When Genesee Towers was slated for demolition in 2013, its proximity to both the Mott Foundation Building and the ''Flint Journal'' Building led to the decision to use implosion as the method for bringing it down. After the 2013 implosion of Genesee Towers, which was the tallest building in both the city and Genesee County, the Mott Foundation Building inherited the title of the tallest building in Flint. In addition to serving as the headquarters of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the building is home to numerous tenants, including those in the legal and financial sectors as well as those that provide other professional services. Other tenants include the Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce and a
Christian Science Reading Room image:5054_christian-science-reading-room-e.jpg, 400px, A typical storefront Christian Science Reading Room on the main street of a suburb of Boston. The window displays a lamp, a large Bible open to the current reading, and copies of '' Science an ...
. The Flint and Genesee Chamber of Commerce occupies
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
's former downtown Flint location, which it closed on May 31, 2013. The Mott Foundation Building was also home to the Crim Fitness Foundation until it moved to a new location on Saginaw Street in 2007. In 2007, a fire on the 14th floor of the Mott Foundation Building caused by a malfunctioning
power strip A power strip is a block of electrical sockets that attaches to the end of a flexible cable (typically with a mains plug on the other end), allowing multiple electrical devices to be powered from a single electrical socket. Power strips are often ...
led to the evacuation of the entire building. There were no injuries. The Mott Foundation Building is home to artwork installed by the Flint Public Art Project. The organization collaborated with
Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...
-based artist Sohail Azad on a
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
2012 light show that included a three-dimensional virtual ball drop. The building has also been used for press conferences by Flint mayors and Michigan governors, including one by governor
Rick Snyder Richard Dale Snyder (born August 19, 1958) is an American business executive, venture capitalist, attorney, accountant, and politician who served as the 48th governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Snyder previ ...
during the Flint water crisis. In April 2009, approximately 30 public-sector and private-sector leaders met at the building for a closed-door session to discuss how to best address the crisis in the automobile industry and its impacts on the area.


In popular culture and image

The Mott Foundation Building made its film debut in the 2008 sports comedy '' Semi-Pro''. A scene from the film was shot in Brush Alley behind the building. Scenes from the 2009 romantic comedy ''
All's Faire in Love ''All's Faire in Love'' is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Scott Marshall and written by R. A. White and Jeffrey Ray Wine. The film stars Owen Benjamin as Will, a college student who is assigned to work at a renaissance fair by his ...
'' were likewise shot at the Mott Foundation Building, which also filmed at Flint's Atwood Stadium and Mott Community College as well as the
Michigan Renaissance Festival The Michigan Renaissance Festival (Mich Ren Fest) is a Renaissance fair, an interactive outdoor event that focuses on recreating the look and feel of a fictional English village called Hollygrove during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the latter ...
. The Mott Foundation Building is considered one of the most iconic structures in downtown Flint, along with the Citizens Bank Building
weatherball A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember. The beacon is usually on the roof of a tall buil ...
and the arches over brick-paved Saginaw Street. It is also home to the highest-flying American flag in the city.


References


Sources

* * {{refend 1930 establishments in Michigan Art Deco architecture in Michigan Bank buildings in Michigan Former bank buildings Office buildings completed in 1930 Skyscraper office buildings in Michigan Skyscrapers in Flint, Michigan