The Detroit Cornice and Slate Company Building is a
Beaux-Arts style industrial office building located at 733 St. Antoine Street (at East Lafayette Street) in
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...
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 ...
. It was listed on the
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 ...
and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974.
[Rebecca Mazzei (11-30-2005]
Still StandingArchive
''Metro Times''. Retrieved on July 4, 2010.
History
The Detroit Cornice and Slate Company was started by Frank Hesse in 1888.
[Detroit Cornice and Slate Company](_blank)
website In 1897, the company hired Harry J. Rill to design a
Beaux-Arts three-story building for their use.
[ P. 38.][ P. 14.] The building was used by the company until 1972, when lack of storage and parking space forced the company to relocate in
Ferndale.
In 1974, the building was renovated for office and commercial use by architect Bill Kessler.
In the 1990s, the ''
Metro Times
The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area.
History and content
Supported entirely by advertising, it is distribute ...
'' newspaper moved into the building; a wraparound addition was constructed to increase room for the newspaper.
In 1999 William Kessler and Associates restored and made an addition to the building.
In July 2013
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan was finalizing the purchase of the Cornice and Slate Company Building, which had the ''Metro Times'' and Paxahau, an event production and management company that produces the
Movement Electronic Music Festival. The Cornice and Slate building is adjacent to the BCBS
Bricktown customer service facility. The acquisition of the Cornice and Slate building would add additional space to BCBS's
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 Istanb ...
facility. The ground floor lease to the Flood's Bar & Grille would be maintained while the Cornice and Slate second and third floors would be used as office space for about 100 BCBS employees.
[Rupersburg, Nicole. Source: Helen Stojic, Director of Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan.]
Blue Cross Blue Shield in talks to purchase Detroit Cornice and Slate Building
"
Archive
''Model D''. Tuesday July 16, 2013. Retrieved on January 1, 2014. This means that the other tenants would be expected to move out of the building. Helen Stojic, director of corporate communications for BCBS, did not state the sale price of the building. BCBS was expected to close on the purchase in August 2013.
By July 16, 2013 Chris Sexson of the ''Metro Times'' stated that the publication had not yet made definitive plans for its new headquarters but was already looking for a new headquarters location.
[ The acquisition forced the ''Metro Times'' to move. The newspaper leased space in a facility in ]Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190.
Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and p ...
.[McGraw, Bill.]
Adieu, Downtown: Metro Times Moving To Ferndale After 33 Years In Detroit
"
Archive
''Deadline Detroit Media''. Deadline Detroit, Inc. September 26, 2013. Retrieved on January 1, 2014.
Construction
The facade of this building is constructed from finely crafted galvanized steel.[Detroit Cornice and Slate BuildingArchive](_blank)
from the city of Detroit These metal facades permitted elegant ornamentation to be constructed quickly and cheaply, particularly in locations like Detroit where stone was not easily obtainable.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Detroit Cornice and Slate''Metro Times''
{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Office buildings in Detroit
Downtown Detroit
Office buildings completed in 1897
National Register of Historic Places in Detroit
Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan
Beaux-Arts architecture in Michigan