Fisher Building

Fisher Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location:	3011 West Grand Boulevard Detroit, Michigan, United States
Coordinates:	42°22′9.5″N 83°4′37″W
Area:	486,991 square feet (45,242.9 m2)
Architect:	Albert Kahn Associates with Joseph Nathaniel French as chief architect
Architectural style:	Art Deco
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	07000847
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	October 14, 1980
Designated NHL:	June 29, 1989

For the Fisher Building in Chicago, see Fisher Building (Chicago).

The Fisher Building (1928) is a landmark skyscraper in the United States, located in the heart of the New Center area of Detroit, Michigan. The ornate building is designed in an Art Deco style, constructed of limestone, granite, and several types of marble. The Fisher family financed the building with proceeds from the sale of Fisher Body to General Motors. It was designed to house office and retail space.

The building, which contains the elaborate 2,089 seat Fisher Theatre, was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989. It is also the location of the headquarters for the Detroit Public Schools.

Facade detail

History

Initially, architect Joseph Nathaniel French of Albert Kahn Associates planned for a complex of three buildings, with two 30-story structures flanking a 60-story tower. However, the Great Depression kept the project at one tower.

The Fisher brothers located the building across from the General Motors Building, now Cadillac Place, as General Motors recently purchased the Fisher Body Company. The two massive buildings spurred the development of a New Center for the city, a business district north of its downtown area.

The building's golden tower was originally covered with gold-gilded tiles, but these were removed during World War II due to fears they could become a beacon for enemy bombers. They were replaced with green terra cotta tiles which, since the 1980s, have been illuminated at night with colored lights to give them a gold appearance. On St. Patrick's Day, the lights are changed to green and, in recent years, to celebrate the NHL playoffs, the tower is illuminated with red lights in honor of the Detroit Red Wings.

In 1974, the Fisher Building and adjoining New Center Building were purchased by Tri-Star Development for approximately $20 million.

Architecture

The Fisher Building rises 30-stories with a roof height of 428 feet (130 m), a top floor height of 339 feet (103 m), and the spire reaching 444 feet (135 m). The building has 21 elevators. Designed by Albert Kahn and Associates with Joseph Nathaniel French as chief architect, it has been called Detroit's largest art object and is widely considered Kahn's greatest achievement.

In 1929, the Fisher Building was honored by the Architectural League of New York with a silver medal in architecture. The opulent three-story barrel vaulted lobby is constructed with forty different kinds of marble, decorated by Hungarian artist Géza Maróti, and is highly regarded by architects. The sculpture on the exterior of the building was supplied by several sculptors including Maroti, Corrado Parducci, Anthony De Lorenzo and Ulysses Ricci.^{[citation needed]}

Radio

Designs called for two flagpoles atop the gilt roof. While they were installed, they were essentially unusable as a radio antenna was installed when one of the building's oldest tenants, radio station WJR, leased space in December 1928. On-air hosts often mention that broadcasts originate "from the golden tower of the Fisher Building." This was a requirement of the station's original lease in exchange for a nominal rent. Two other radio stations, WDVD-FM and WDRQ-FM, also broadcast from the building.

In 1970, building employees discovered a storage room sealed with tape. None of the staff knew what the room contained or why it was sealed. When they located the key, the found the flags of 75 nations that apparently were created in 1928 and intended to be flown for foreign visitors.

Fisher Theatre

The building also is home to the Fisher Theatre, one of Detroit's oldest live theatre venues. The theatre originally featured a lavish Aztec-themed interior in the Mayan Revival style, and once had Mexican-Indian art, banana trees and live macaws that its patrons could feed. After the Depression, the theatre operated primarily as a movie house until 1961. Originally containing 3,500 seats, the interior was renovated into a 2,089-seat playhouse that allowed for more spacious seating and lobbies for patrons at a cost of $3,500,000. The decor was changed to a simple mid-century design (which some feel is now far more "dated" in appearance than the grandiose art deco foyer). The New Fisher Theatre opened October 2, 1961 and is owned and operated by the Nederlander Organization. It primarily features travelling productions of Broadway shows and has hosted the premieres of Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof and Golden Boy.

Art

Befitting to the Fisher Building's history in association with art, there have been three nationally recognized Fine Art Galleries that have been located in the structure including the Gertrude Kasle Gallery and London Fine Arts Group.

• Gertrude Kasle Gallery: Located in Suite 310 of the Fisher Building from 1965-1976 was a nationally recognized Fine Art Gallery hosting exhibits for some of the most highly respected artists of the second half of the 20th century including Willem de Kooning, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Goodnough, Adolph Gottlieb, Phillip Guston, Grace Hartigan, Ian Hornak, Ray Johnson, Robert Motherwell, Lowell Nesbitt, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg and Jack Tworkov.
• London Arts Group: Located in a large portion of the third floor of the Fisher Building during the 1970s and 1980s, London Fine Arts Group acted as an internationally recognized publishing company assisting in producing limited edition art works for many internationally recognized artists including Yaacov Agam, Karel Appel, Arman, Romare Bearden, Gene Davis, Don Eddy, Alberto Giacometti, Ian Hornak, Lester Johnson, Alex Katz, Richard Lindner, Roberto Matta, Lowell Nesbitt, Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Sultan, Victor Vasarely and Larry Zox.

Gallery

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  Fisher Building through the trees in early spring

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  Walkway from Cadillac Place

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  Facade detail

See also

• Art Deco
• Cadillac Place
• Guardian Building
• New Center Building
• New Center, Detroit
• Pewabic Pottery

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Fogelman, Randall (2004). Detroit's New Center. Arcadia. ISBN 0738532711. 
• Hill, Eric J. and 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. 
• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6. 
• Savage, Rebecca Binno and Greg Kowalski (2004). Art Deco in Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-3228-2. 

External links

• Fisher Building at Emporis.com
• New Center Council
• SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on the Fisher Building
• Metro Times review of American City: Detroit Architecture