Free Press Building - Detroit, Michigan
N 42° 19.821 W 083° 03.065
17T E 331012 N 4688492
The Detroit Free Press moved into this Albert Kahn gem on Lafayette between Washington and Cass, in 1925.
Waymark Code: WMCEAR
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 08/28/2011
Views: 6
The six-story building - with a 14-story tower - was commissioned by Free Press owner E.D. Stair and cost $6 million (about $72 million in today's dollars) to build. The construction firm of Spencer, White & Prentice was entrusted to erect Kahn's limestone masterpiece.
The 288,517 square-foot building has limestone carvings by New York sculptor Ulysses Ricci, including two imposing statues of the goddesses of Commerce and Communication who guard the front doors. An arch with owls, snakes and, oddly, pelicans and seahorses is above them.
Ricci also carved eight reliefs: Benjamin Franklin, for his work with the printing press; Gov. and Sen. Lewis Cass; Gov. Austin Blair; Monroe, Mich., native Gen. George Custer; former University of Michigan President James Angell; and journalists Horace Greeley, Charles Dana and George Goodale. There also are sculptures of transportation: a plane, a ship, a train and a truck.
The building's facade is made of limestone quarried and hauled from Bedford, Ind.
Style: Art Deco
Structure Type: Commercial/Retail
Architect: Albert Kahn
Date Built: 1925
Supporting references: Not listed
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