Whittier Hotel
The Whittier Hotel is a former hotel at 415 Burns Drive in Detroit , Michigan on the banks of the Detroit River . The structure is also known as the Whittier Apartments . It was inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1985 .
history
The Whittier Hotel was originally built as an apartment hotel , which means that the residents rented apartments but used the typical services of a hotel. The Whittier was built at a time when the automotive industry in Detroit created a growing need for housing. The design company chose a site near the river, an area that until then had mainly been used to build upper-class houses. Construction began in 1921 and lasted until 1927.
Over the years people like Horace Dodge , Eleanor Roosevelt , Mae West , Frank Sinatra and The Beatles stayed at the hotel . During Prohibition , the hotel gained popularity in the underworld because of its easy access to the river and thus to Canada .
The hotel has changed hands many times and was in operation until 2000 or 2001 when the last tenants moved out. In June 2003, the building was taken over by Phoenix Communities, who converted the eight-story wing into a senior housing complex now known as Whittier Manor . The fifteen-story wing is being converted into rental apartments and condominiums.
description
The Whittier Hotel was designed by Charles N. Agree ; it was the first of several large luxury hotels that the architect designed. Due to the soft, swampy subsoil, Agree put the foundation of the hotel on a base plate. The complex actually consisted of two separate structures, an eight-story building on the north and a more extensive fifteen-story building in the Italian Renaissance style on the south side closer to the river.
The north wing is made of red brick and has regularly shaped windows. The facades of the two lowest floors are made of smooth stones and consist of classic arcade arches. This part of the building originally comprised 184 residential units and was completed in 1922.
The south wing is made of yellow-brown brick with terracotta surrounds on the upper floors. This part of the building was completed in 1926, a one-story modern entrance was added later.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d The Whittier Hotel / Whittier Apartments ( English ) Detroit1701.org. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ↑ a b c d Rick Steele: The Whittier Hotel - A Legend Reborn ( English ) CitiesOfPromise.com. August 26, 2008. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved on December 16, 2008.
- ↑ Whittier Hotel ( English , PDF; 181 kB) City of Detroit. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Whittier Hotel ( English ) State of Michigan. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2008.
Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '17 " N , 82 ° 59' 23" W.