Wright–Kay Building

The Wright–Kay Building, originally known as the Schwankovsky Temple of Music, is one of the oldest buildings in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is located at 1500 Woodward Avenue, at the corner of Woodward and John R. Street, in proximity to the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District. The building was listed on the State of Michigan's Historical Register in 1980 as #P25241.

Wright–Kay Building
The building in 2022
Alternative names	Schwankovsky Temple of Music
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Office
Location	1500 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates	42°20′6.5″N 83°2′57″W
Completed	1891
Owner	Bedrock Detroit
Technical details
Floor count	6
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Gordon W. Lloyd

History and description

The building, designed by Gordon W. Lloyd, was constructed for the F. J. Schwankovsky Company, a retailer of musical instruments.^[1] It was completed in 1891, and sat on the growing fringe of Detroit's Woodward Avenue, between Grand Circus Park and Campus Martius Park. The Schwankovsky Company went out of business a couple of decades after the building opened; subsequently, from 1920 to 1978, the structure was occupied by the Wright Kay jewelry firm.^[2] Its current use includes a clothing store on the first floor,^[3] a restaurant on the second floor^[4] and residential units above.

The Wright–Kay is a Queen Anne style building with Romanesque accents,^[5] faced with brick and brownstone trimmings. A corner turret extends from the second to the fifth floor; the second floor of the structure contains a one-time concert ballroom.^[1] The building was erected with a cast iron frame, and was among the first ones in Detroit featuring an electrical elevator.^[5]

In 2013, the original wood windows in the building, many of which had an etched design containing the initials WK, were all thrown out and replaced with replacement aluminum windows by the owner, Bedrock Management, all without gaining the needed approval of the Detroit Historic District Commission.^[6]

References

1. Schwankovsky Building. Detroit1701. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
2. Brennan, James. Schwankovsky Temple of Music^[usurped]. The Michigan Historical Marker Web Site. Retrieved on January 24, 2011.
3. "Menswear designer John Varvatos to open first Midwest store at 1500 Woodward". Crain's Detroit Business. October 22, 2014.
4. Araj, Victoria. "Wright & Company Gastropub Breathes New Life into Detroit's Historic Wright-Kay Building - Opportunity Detroit".
5. Hill, Eric J. & John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3. P. 66.
6. "Detroit Historic District Commission". www.facebook.com.

Further reading

• Hill, Eric J. & John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
• Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6.

External links

• Google Maps location of the Schwankovsky Building