The storied Michigan Building in downtown Detroit, built in the grandiose Renaissance Revival style of the Roaring Twenties, has now been used for a while as a facility the original architects perhaps never intended it to be used as: a parking garage.
Completed in 1926 by Chicago architects Rapp & Rapp, the theater has been through many lives: a jazz concert hall, a rock concert hall, a nightclub, an office space—and now a parking garage, according to the Huffington Post.
Today, Toyotas, Hyundais, Volkswagens and a plethora of automobiles manufactured by companies from around the world—and the occasional proud Michigander’s Ford or Chevrolet—park beneath the opulent rotunda, a place where once the theatre’s most esteemed guests sat beneath a soffit heavily decorated with cartouches and acroteria that today only give a hint that it must’ve once been gilded.
The decaying theatre has been gaining some public attention lately. It was a set in Eminem’s film 8 Mile, and recently aggregate news sites like the Huffington Post have circulated a collection of images of the garage turned theatre.
Related Stories
Resiliency | Feb 15, 2022
Design strategies for resilient buildings
LEO A DALY's National Director of Engineering Kim Cowman takes a building-level look at resilient design.
Products and Materials | Feb 14, 2022
How building owners and developers can get ahead of the next supply chain disaster
Global supply chain interruptions that started at the very beginning of the pandemic are still with us and compounding every step of the way. Below are a few proven tips on how to avert some of the costly fallout should we be faced with similar commercial disasters at any time in the future.
Urban Planning | Feb 14, 2022
5 steps to remake suburbs into green communities where people want to live, work, and play
Stantec's John Bachmann offers proven tactic for retrofitting communities for success in the post-COVID era.
Urban Planning | Feb 11, 2022
6 ways to breathe life into mixed-use spaces
To activate mixed-use spaces and realize their fullest potential, project teams should aim to create a sense of community and pay homage to the local history.
Senior Living Design | Feb 11, 2022
Design for senior living: A chat with Rocky Berg, AIA
Rob Cassidy, Editor of MULTIFAMILY Design + Construction, chats with Rocky Berg, AIA, Principal with Dallas architecture firm three, about how to design senior living communities to meet the needs of the owner, seniors, their families, and staff.
Architects | Feb 11, 2022
How computer simulations of vision loss create more empathetic buildings for the visually impaired
Here is a look at four challenges identified from our research and how the design responds accordingly.
Healthcare Facilities | Feb 10, 2022
Respite for the weary healthcare worker
The pandemic has shined a light on the severe occupational stress facing healthcare workers. Creating restorative hospital environments can ease their feelings of anxiety and burnout while improving their ability to care for patients.
Architects | Feb 8, 2022
Perkins Eastman and BLT Architects merge
Expanding services in hospitality, education, and mixed-use sectors to better serve clients.
Architects | Feb 3, 2022
SmithGroup elevates Mark Adams to lead workplace practice
In his new role, Adams leads the firm’s practice devoted to the design of corporate and commercial facilities.
Architects | Feb 2, 2022
Steven L. Pliam joins LEO A DALY as Design Technology Leader
Pliam will oversee the deployment and use of technologies such as computational design, parametric design, digital practice, reality capture, visualization, virtual/augmented reality, GIS and AI/Machine Learning.