Buhl Building

This article is about the building in Detroit. For the building in Pittsburgh, see Buhl Building (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).

The Buhl Building is a 29-story office skyscraper in the Financial District of downtown Detroit, Michigan. Constructed in 1925, it was designed by Wirt C. Rowland in a Neo-Gothic style with Romanesque accents.

Buhl Building
General information
Type	Commercial offices
Location	535 Griswold Street Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates	42.3294°N 83.0469°W / 42.3294; -83.0469
Completed	1925
Owner	Bedrock Detroit
Height
Roof	111.6 m (366 ft)
Top floor	107.0 m (351.0 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	29
Floor area	482,454 sq ft (44,821.4 m2)
Lifts/elevators	13
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Wirt C. Rowland SmithGroup
Buhl Building
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Architectural style	Neo-Gothic / Romanesque
Part of	Detroit Financial District (ID09001067)
Designated CP	December 14, 2009
References
[1][2][3]

History

The building stands atop what used to be the Savoyard Creek near its confluence with the Detroit River. In 1836, the creek was covered and turned into a sewer. The Savoyard Club occupied the 27th floor of the Buhl Building from 1928 until its membership dwindled and the club closed in 1994.

On June 11, 1982, a man upset over a delayed insurance payment entered a law firm on the 8th floor and opened fire with a shotgun, killing a law clerk, and starting a fire using a Molotov cocktail. People in the building smashed windows for fresh air and to enable rescue, but were forced to wait as Detroit Fire Department ladders were unable to reach above the 6th floor. An off-duty Detroit Police sergeant responded to the scene and took the man into custody; he was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.^[4]

Architecture

William Edward Kapp, architect for the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, has been credited with interior design work on the Buhl Building.^[5] The architectural sculpture on the building was designed by Corrado Parducci.

The Citizens Bank Building in downtown Saginaw, Michigan was modeled after the Buhl Building.

Tenants

The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation has its headquarters in the building.^[6] Fink + Associates Law's Detroit office is located in Suite 1000. The Consulate of Italy in Detroit used to be located in Suite 1840 until 2021.^{[7] [8]}

Hubbell, Roth & Clark, a civil engineering firm, is also based in the building.

At one time Real Times Media, the owner of several black newspapers in the US, had its headquarters in the building.^[9]

Michigan Nonprofit Association, a statewide membership organization that serves the nonprofit sector, has its Metro Detroit office in the Buhl Building.^[10]

Gallery

• 
  Buhl Building, circa 1920
• 
  Buhl Building in the shadow of the Penobscot Building

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Detroit

References

1. "Buhl Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. "Buhl Building". SkyscraperPage.
3. Buhl Building at Structurae
4. Meloni, Rod (June 13, 2022). "40 years later: Revisiting the massacre at Detroit's Buhl Building". WDIV News. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
5. Witsil, Frank (June 15, 2021). "Downton Abbey fame leads to Meadow Brook Hall architect getting credit he deserves". Detroit Free Press.
6. "Contact SMART". Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation. 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
7. "Welcome to the web site of the Consulate of Italy in Detroit". Consulate of Italy in Detroit. 2011. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
8. "Relocation of the office of the Consulate of Italy in Detroit" (Press release). Consulate of Italy in Detroit. February 25, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
9. "About Real Times Media". Real Times Media. Archived from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2013. Headquarters: The Buhl Building; 535 Griswold Street; Suite 1300; Detroit, MI 48226
10. "Contact Us". Michigan Nonprofit Association. Retrieved December 3, 2015.

Further reading

• Hill, Eric J.; Gallagher, John (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3120-0.
• Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, Shadowing Parducci, unpublished manuscript, Detroit.
• Meyer, Katherine Mattingly; McElroy, Martin C. P. (1980). Detroit Architecture A. I. A. Guide. Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (Revised ed.). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1651-1.
• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3270-2.
• Savage, Rebecca Binno; Kowalski, Greg (2004). Art Deco in Detroit. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3228-8.
• Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Dearborn, Michigan: Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-933691-09-4.

External links

• Official Website (Caution: Macromedia Flash is required to enter)
• "Where Detroit's elite met to eat". The Detroit News. October 12, 2004.