The Pasadena Apartments is an apartment building located at 2170 East Jefferson Avenue 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 t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. 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 ...

in 1985.

Description

The Pasadena Apartment Building is an eleven-story building constructed of yellow brick with limestone facing on the two lower floors. A column of bay windows rises from the basement to the tenth floor; a classic style entrance is in the center of the front façade. The building originally had classical details on the upper floors, including a cornice and false balconies, that have been removed.

Significance and History

The Pasadena Apartments was constructed in 1902 from a design by Mortimer L. Smith. The building is an early example of upper-class, multi-unit housing, and is one of the earliest of these structures to be built with reinforced concrete. The building was constructed at a time when newly wealthy families associated with Detroit's industrial boom were appearing, yet financing requirements for private homes were substantial. These families often preferred to rent upscale apartments. The Pasadena is notable for its scale, design, and materials. The building is still used as apartment space, and is operated by MFG Detroit.

References

{{East Jefferson Avenue Residential TR American upper class Apartment buildings in Detroit National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Residential buildings completed in 1902 Renaissance Revival architecture in Michigan