Guardian Building
The Guardian Building is a 40-story Art Deco skyscraper located at 500 Griswold Street in the Financial District of Downtown Detroit, Michigan.[1] Originally constructed as the Union Trust Building and opened on April 2, 1929, it stands 496 feet (151 m) to its roof and is one of the most expressive examples of Art Deco design in the United States.[2] Popularly nicknamed the "Cathedral of Finance," the building is owned and operated by Wayne County as its government headquarters and was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989.[3]
Background and Construction
In the 1920s, Detroit was a worldwide industrial and commercial hub, and it was in this era of unprecedented prosperity that a newly organized banking group — the Union Trust Company — was anxious to communicate its public image through a flagship headquarters. The Union Trust Company had been founded in Detroit in 1890 by Senator James McMillan and Dexter M. Ferry, along with investments from Russell A. Alger, Col. Frank J. Hecker, and Christian H. Buhl. By the 1920s, the company required more space after a merger with the equally large National Bank of Commerce.
The Union Trust Company commissioned the architectural firm of Smith Hinchman & Grylls to design their headquarters, and they turned the task over to head designer Wirt C. Rowland. This was Rowland's third sizable commission in the city, after the nearby Buhl Building and Penobscot Building. Five buildings were torn down to make way for what would become the Guardian; demolition on the Huron, Burns, Lewis, Butler, and the Standard Savings and Loan Association buildings began on March 1, 1927.
The skyscraper was founded on bedrock, resting upon 72 caissons sunk through hardpan to bedrock 120 feet below ground, with the foundation completed October 15, 1927. Built from 1928 to 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including Art Moderne designs. It opened on April 2, 1929.
Architecture and Design
The result of Rowland's commission was a 496-foot, 40-story steel-framed building sheathed in 1.8 million orange bricks — a specially formulated shade dubbed "Guardian brick" by the architect. The use of brick is unusual in a building of this size from this era; usually granite and limestone were used, and the Guardian was the world's tallest masonry structure when it was completed.
The building's taller north tower and smaller south tower are connected with a nave-like block similar to the plan of a cathedral. Its nickname, Cathedral of Finance, alludes both to the building's resemblance to a cathedral — with its tower over the main entrance and octagonal apse at the opposite end — and to New York City's Woolworth Building, which had earlier been dubbed the Cathedral of Commerce. The roof height of the building is 496 ft (151 m), the top floor is at 489 feet (149 m), and the spire reaches 632 ft (192.6 m).
The main entrance to the building is flanked by two reliefs named Safety and Security, carved by prolific sculptor Corrado Parducci. The half-dome above the entrance is covered with Pewabic tiles whose symbolic designs were created in collaboration with the architect. The architect closely supervised the building of the exterior, which includes brickwork with tile, limestone, and terra cotta. The colored brick that Rowland selected for the exterior came to be marketed by the manufacturer as "Union Trust Brick" and, after 1939, as "Guardian brick."
Rowland specified Monel metal in place of the commonly used brass and bronze for all exposed metalwork on the building, an innovation which was widely adopted, most notably on New York's Chrysler Building. Even the elevators were innovative — they were among the first to automatically stop level with the floor and open their doors, a function that had previously been performed by a human operator.
Interior
Among the interior's standout features are a 150-foot-long main lobby with a three-story vaulted ceiling, giant columns composed of Travertine marble imported from Italy, a Tiffany & Co. glass clock, and an Ezra Winter mural. Italian Travertine marble is used for steps and wall surfaces, contrasting with deep red Numidian marble imported from Africa.
Michigan artist Ezra Winter designed the large glass mosaic featured in the main lobby as well as the spectacular mural in the original banking hall. The mural highlights Michigan's industries such as manufacturing, farming, and mining. A Monel metal screen divides the lobby from the banking hall on the second floor; the screen features a clock in the center designed by Tiffany.
Bold geometric patterns of blue, green, and red mosaics cover the walls and floor. Many of the tiles were created at Pewabic Pottery, a local pottery company, and were designed to mimic Aztec and American Indian patterns. Rowland also designed furniture for the bank's offices as well as tableware, linens, and waitress uniforms for a restaurant in the building. The building also featured a three-level basement which housed a gun range for security guards, as well as a theater on the 32nd floor. In all, 40 artisans worked on the structure's painted murals and ceilings, intricate tile work, mosaic and stained glass, marble fixtures, and vaulted lobby.
History After Opening
The stock market crash of 1929 had devastating effects on the Union Trust Company, causing it to fail. It was reincorporated as the Union Guardian Trust Company, and the building was renamed the Union Guardian Building before becoming known simply as the Guardian Building. By the time the building was completed, Union Trust had bought up several other banks and become the Guardian Detroit Union Group, which held 40% of Detroit's banking resources. The financial turmoil proved irreversible: in 1932, the bank went into receivership as the New Union Building Corp.
Following the Union Trust Company's receivership in 1932, the building was underutilized until World War II, when it became the command center for U.S. Army wartime ordnance production. The New Union Building Co. took the building back over after the war, but the bank filed for bankruptcy in 1949. It was sold at auction in 1952 to the Guardian Building Co. of the Michigan Bank Corp.
Up until the 1950s, MichCon remained the Guardian's biggest tenant until the gas company built its own skyscraper — now known as One Woodward — on the site of the Hotel Norton. MichCon was not done with the Guardian, however, actually purchasing the landmark in 1975 and then selling it to General Electric Pension Trust under a leaseback contract. In 1982, the building became the headquarters of Michigan Consolidated Gas Company ("MichCon"), and under the leadership of President and COO Stephen E. Ewing, MichCon restored the lobby and vaulted ceilings on the first floor in 1986. It would remain MichCon's — later called MCN Energy Group — headquarters until the merger of MCN with DTE Energy in 2001.
In 1998, Smith, Hinchman & Grylls — by then known simply as SmithGroup — announced it would move into the Guardian, the gem that one of its architects had designed 70 years earlier. The Sterling Group bought the Guardian in the fall of 2003 and invested more than $14 million in improvements, and crucially announced that it would open the building to the public — the first time in more than a quarter century that non-employees were allowed to enter.
Wayne County Ownership and Landmark Status
In July 2007, Wayne County announced that it was going to buy the Guardian Building for $14.5 million and relocate some of its offices to the landmark. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano formally announced the agreement on July 18, 2007; the deal was reportedly part of a larger real estate purchase worth $33.5 million in downtown Detroit. Today, the Guardian is a Class-A office building owned by Wayne County, Michigan, and serves as its headquarters.
The building was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989, and the associated Detroit Financial District is on the National Register of Historic Places. This designation represents the highest honor given by the National Park Service. The building is open to the public during business hours at no charge. City Tour Detroit offers hour-long guided tours of the Guardian Building at multiple times Thursday through Monday, with tickets priced at $12 for adults and $6 for children. Visitors without a vehicle can reach the building via the Detroit People Mover or the QLINE; both the Financial District and Congress Street stations are within a two-minute walk of the building.