The historic River Place (also known as Stroh River Place) is located in

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 ...

, bounded by Joseph Campau Avenue, Wight Street, McDougall Street, and the

Detroit International Riverfront The Detroit International Riverfront is a tourist attraction and landmark of Detroit, Michigan, extending from the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Belle Isle in the east, for a total of 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers). The International Riverfront en ...

. It was formerly the Parke-Davis and Company Pharmaceutical Plant. The complex was 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 1985.

History and significance

In the 1870s,

Parke-Davis Parke-Davis is a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Although Parke, Davis & Co. is no longer an independent corporation, it was once America's oldest and largest drug maker, and played an important role in medical history. In 1970 ...

moved to the riverfront property this complex now occupies.Parke-Davis and Company Plant and Research Laboratory
from the National Park Service. Between 1891 and 1955, the company expanded the complex to cover over , building the 26 structures that still stand. These buildings were designed by some of the most prominent Detroit architects, including

Donaldson and Meier Donaldson and Meier was an architectural firm based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1880 by John M. Donaldson (1854–1941) and Henry J. Meier (1858–1917), the firm produced a large and varied number of commissions in Detroit and ...

, Albert Kahn, and Smith, Hinchman and Grylls. As a group, the buildings in the complex are significant as the represent a wide variety of industrial architecture from the early 20th century. In 1979, Parke-Davis sold its property in Detroit, including the Research Laboratory, to the Stroh family (of Stroh Brewery Company).Melanie Grunow Sobocinski, Michele Valerie Ronnick, Marlise Beaudoen, Alfred Berkowitz Gallery
''Detroit and Rome: Building on the Past,'' The Regents of the Univ of Michigan, 2005, , p.97 The complex, now known as River Place, has been converted into offices, retail space, residences, and a hotel.

Description

These buildings range from brick mill buildings built at the turn of the 20th century to reinforced concrete buildings constructed after 1920 and range from one to six stories in height.
from the state of Michigan The central and northern portions of the complex are tightly packed with interconnected buildings. There is more open space at the southern edge along the river. The most notable single building in this group is the

Riverwalk Hotel Detroit The Roberts Riverwalk Urban Resort Hotel, formerly the Parke-Davis Research Laboratory also once known as Building 55-Detroit Research,

, the former Parke-Davis Research Laboratory, built in 1902 along the Detroit River. This building was the first industrial research laboratory in the U.S. established for the specific purpose of conducting pharmacological research, inaugurating the commercial pure science approach which has driven the rapid development of pharmaceutical technology.Parke-Davis Research Laboratory
from the state of Michigan Dept of History & Libraries The research laboratory was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976.

Gallery

Image:Parke-Davis Plant-J Campau Ave Detroit MI.jpg, Looking north along Joseph Campau Avenue Image:Parke-Davis Plant-McDougal Ave Detroit MI.jpg, Looking north along McDougall Street Image:Parke-Davis_Research_Laboratory_Detroit_MI.jpg,

Riverwalk Hotel Detroit The Roberts Riverwalk Urban Resort Hotel, formerly the Parke-Davis Research Laboratory also once known as Building 55-Detroit Research,

, formerly the Parke-Davis Research Laboratory Image:Parke-Davis Plant-Building Detroit MI.jpg, Building in complex

References

{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan Industrial buildings and structures in Detroit Warehouse districts of the United States Buildings and structures completed in 1891 Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit 1891 establishments in Michigan Romanesque Revival architecture in Michigan