McGregor Public Library - Highland Park, MI - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

103. The McGREGOR PUBLIC LIBRARY (open 9-9 weekdays), 12244 Woodward Ave., is housed in a building of Greco-Roman design. The exterior, largely of limestone, has a series of fluted pilasters and a molded cornice with polychrome tear-cotta frieze. The main entrance is set between Ionic columns. The site was donated by Mrs. Tracy W. McGregor; the building was completed in 1926 at a cost of $500,000. It was designed by Edward L Tilton and Alfred M. Githens, in association with Marcus R. Burrows and Frank Eurich, Jr. The latter designed the art-room entrance gates of wrought iron, executed by August Schack of the WPA Art Project (see Artists and Craftsmen); Leonard Jungwirth also associated with the WPA Art Project, carved the group, Children Skating, in white oak. The bas reliefs of the bronze entrance doors are modeled by Fred Torry. Mural paintings my Mildred Williams, over the bookcases in the CHILDREN'S ROOM, portray scenes from Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and several of the fairy fairy tales. Among exhibits in the art room are watercolors by Frederick W. Henrich, and The Old Canal, an oil painting by Francis Peter Paulus. (see Artists and Craftsmen) -Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State 1941

With the library having closed in 2002 and the location considered to be not the best part of the Detroit area the library has fallen into disrepair due to aging and vandalism. See included photos. It is fenced in and I did not trespass.

"The new McGregor Library was dedicated on March 5, 1926, and was the recipient of the Gold Medal for Architectural Merit by the AIA for 1926. McGregor Library differs from most other libraries of its size because of the open interior of the main floor, in its freedom from corridors, in its few partitions and in the fact that each room gives wide and direct access to each other---all supervised from the main desk opposite the entrance.

McGregor Library is a dignified Roman design with careful transitions from plain to ornamental surfaces. The building is 270 feet wide and 78 feet deep with 39,780 square feet of space. The elaborate cornice is counterbalanced by the Ionic columns and united with the flat terrain by the broad stone steps and terraces across the front of the building."-McGregor Public Library

Book: Michigan Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 293 Year Originally Published: 1941

Visit Instructions:
To log a Visit, please supply an original image of the Waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.