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The Farwell Building is a commercial building and residential building located at 1249 Griswold Street in Downtown
The Farwell Building is an eight-story rectangular building built of brick, and designed in the Chicago school architectural style. The front façade makes extensive use of glass, and includes both horizontal and vertical elements. A horizontal frieze crosses the façade at the entrance level, and a second frieze decorated with
Historic Detroit — Farwell BuildingTerrastories Bearings: "Detroit’s Historic Farwell Building"
- ''interior images''
at Detroiturbex.com {{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Office buildings in Detroit Unused buildings in Detroit Commercial buildings completed in 1915 1915 establishments in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Historic district contributing properties in Michigan Chicago school architecture in Michigan
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1976.
Description
The Farwell Building is an eight-story rectangular building built of brick, and designed in the Chicago school architectural style. The front façade makes extensive use of glass, and includes both horizontal and vertical elements. A horizontal frieze crosses the façade at the entrance level, and a second frieze decorated with triglyph
Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are ...
s and metopes adorns the second story. Ionic pilasters stand at the corners of the building and flanking the central entrance. Iron grillwork decorates the entrance transom, and the interior features a Tiffany mosaic ceiling, brass elevator doors, and marble walls.
History
The Farwell Building is named for the estate of Jesse H. and Emmer J. Farwell. The building was completed in 1915 from plans made by architect Harrie W. Bonnah. The decorative (and structural) ironwork was made by the Russell Wheel and Foundry Company of Detroit. In 1956, the Farwell was significantly altered: the originalterra cotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
cornice with Pewabic tiles was removed, and significant changes were made to the ground level façade. Higgins Management Company purchased the Farwell during the 1970s and renovated the building for retail office space. However, since 1984, the building has been completely vacant.
In October 2009, the State of Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
announced it was in negotiations to buy the building from the current owners through the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program with a final sale price expected to be over US$3 million, less past-due property taxes owed on the building. In April 2012, Lansing-based Karp and Associates submitted a successful bid to restore the building and the nearby Detroit Savings Bank Building to house residential units, offices and retail space. Part of the renovations will include recreating the cornice removed in 1957.
See also
* Capitol Park *Urban development in Detroit
Planning and development in Detroit since the late 20th century has attempted to enhance the economy and quality of life of Detroit, Michigan, United States. In 1970, the private group Detroit Renaissance began to facilitate development in the city ...
References
External links
Historic Detroit — Farwell Building
- ''interior images''
at Detroiturbex.com {{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Office buildings in Detroit Unused buildings in Detroit Commercial buildings completed in 1915 1915 establishments in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Historic district contributing properties in Michigan Chicago school architecture in Michigan