Savoyard Centre (1900), also known as State Savings Bank, is an office building at 151 West Fort Street in Downtown

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 as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981 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 1982. Another historic marker erected November 13, 1964, also notes that the site was previously occupied by

Fort Lernoult Fort Shelby was a military fort in Detroit, Michigan that played a significant role in the War of 1812. It was built by the British in 1779 as Fort Lernoult, and was ceded to the United States by the Jay Treaty in 1796. It was renamed Fort Detroit ...

until July 11, 1796, when, in compliance with the terms of the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

ending the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, British troops had evacuated their last post in United States territory.

History

The State Savings Bank was organized in 1883, and purchased the site at the corner of Fort and Shelby in 1898, by which time it was the largest bank in Detroit. They commissioned the prominent architect

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...

to design the Neo-Classical bank. P. 18. The interior and exterior walls are white marble. The main entrance is in a recessed portico and framed by two Ionic columns tall and weighing . Above the entry is a cartouche bearing the Michigan Coat of Arms flanked by two figures representing Industry and Commerce. In 1907, the State Savings Bank merged with the People's Savings Bank to form the People's State Bank, requiring a larger building. The original structure faced Fort Street, but extended only in depth. In 1914, the bank hired

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 ...

to design an addition to the building. The resulting structure doubled the original size by extending the building to Congress Street. P. 88. The addition is nearly indistinguishable from the original. The two-story main banking room in the interior is surrounded by arched colonnades. The colonnades are divided by Ionic pilasters. The second floor occupies the upper portions of the arches and frosted glass allows light to pass between the spaces. The coffered ceiling is molded plaster and is slightly more ornate in the 1898 portion of the building. The main vault stood at the rear of the original structure and the 1914 addition placed it in the middle of the banking floor. In the archway over the Congress Street entry is a mural by American artist Thomas Wilmer Dewing. It is an allegorical representation of the City of Detroit flanked by Commerce and Agriculture. The painting was completed in 1900 and placed in its present position after the structure was expanded in 1914. The bank again merged in 1927 to become the Peoples Wayne County Bank, but disappeared in the financial failures of the Great Depression. Afterward, the headquarters of

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

's Manufacturer's National Bank occupied the building. In the 1960s, a pedestrian bridge was constructed across Shelby Street to connect the two buildings then occupied by Manufacturer's Bank. The building was continuously used as a bank until the 1980s, when it became an office supply showroom. In August 2013, the building was jeopardized as owners proposed demolition and converting the property to a surface parking lot. Bedrock Real Estate Services, a company owned by local businessman

Dan Gilbert Daniel Gilbert (born January 17, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association' ...

added the structure to its portfolio of 65 Detroit properties December 13, 2014. The company did not disclose the purchase price or possible plans, however one rumored use could be an auto museum. The current name is taken from the nearby Savoyard Creek, named by early settlers who arrived in the area from Savoy. The creek began at the current site of Lafayette Park flowed parallel to Congress Street to the foot of Fourth Street where it emptied into the Detroit River. Over time, the creek became an open sewer until complaints from nearby residents caused the city to enclose and incorporate it into the sewer system in 1836. Julian Scott Department Store was located at 151 West Fort Street in downtown

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History

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