The Whittier (also known as the Whittier Apartments) is a partially renovated high rise residential complex and former hotel located at 415 Burns Drive 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 ...

, on the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Detro ...

. It 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

The Whittier was constructed as an apartment hotel, meaning that tenants could rent an apartment, yet have access to services typically provided by a hotel.The Whittier Hotel/Whittier Apartments
from Detroit1701.org The Whittier was built at a time when the population boom in Detroit increased demand for housing. The developer selected a site near the Detroit River, in an area that was, until then, primarily used for exclusive upper-class homes. Construction began in 1921, and ran until 1927.Rick Steele
"The Whittier Hotel - A Legend Reborn," Tuesday, 26 August 2008, from CitiesOfPromise.com Over the years, the luxury hotel attracted wealthy guests such as Horace Dodge,

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

, Frank Sinatra and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. During

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, the hotel's convenient access to the Detroit River and

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made it popular with underworld types, including the Purple Gang. The hotel changed hands many times, and was occupied until 2000 or 2001, when the last residents moved out. In June 2003, the building was purchased by Phoenix Communities, who refurbished the eight-story section into a senior citizen's living center, known as the Whittier Manor. Renovation of the fifteen-story tower has recently come to a deadlock.

Description

Charles N. Agree designed the Whittier Hotel; it was the first of several large luxury hotels designed by the architect. Due to the soft, marshy ground, Agree used a slab foundation to support the hotel. The complex actually consists of two separate structures: an eight-story building to the north, and a larger fifteen-story

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

style tower to the south. The eight-story northern building is constructed from red brick and has regularly spaced windows.Whittier Hotel
from the state of Michigan The first and second stories are faced with smooth stone, and feature a classical arcade. This building originally contained 184 units, and was completed in 1922. The fifteen-story southern building was completed in 1926. It is basically Italian Renaissance in style, and is built from

buff brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

with

terra 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 ...

trim in the upper floors. A modern entrance of a single story in height has been recently removed. During the 1950s the exterior of the tower was altered Both buildings are notable for the high quality of the interior and exterior finishes.Whittier Hotel
from the city of Detroit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittier, Detroit, Michigan, The Renaissance Revival architecture in Michigan Apartment buildings in Detroit Residential buildings completed in 1922 Residential buildings completed in 1926 Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Residential skyscrapers in Detroit Charles N. Agree buildings