The Whittier (Detroit, Michigan)

The Whittier Hotel is a former hotel in 415 Burns Drive in Detroit, Michigan on the banks of the Detroit River. The structure is also known as self Whittier. It was registered on 9 October 1985 in the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The Whittier Hotel was originally built as an apartment - hotel, meaning that residents apartments anmieteten, but took the typical services of a hotel to complete. The Whittier was built at a time when population growth due to the automotive industry in Detroit created an increased need for accommodation. Designing company chose a building site near the river, an area that has been used previously primarily for the construction of houses of the upper class. Construction began in 1921 and lasted until 1927.

Over the years, lodged in the hotel people like Horace Dodge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mae West, Frank Sinatra and The Beatles. During Prohibition, the hotel in the Underworld gained popularity because of the access to the river and therefore easy to Canada was, .

The hotel has changed owners many times and was until 2000 or 2001 into operation, as the last tenants moved out. The building was taken over by Phoenix communities that reformed the eight-story wing in an assisted living facility, which is now known as the Whittier Manor in June 2003. The fifteen -story wing is converted into rental apartments and condominiums.

Description

The Whittier Hotel was designed by Charles N. Agree; it was the first of several large luxury hotel, designed by the architect. Due to the soft, marshy subsoil sat Agree the foundation of the hotel on a base plate. The complex actually consisted of two separate buildings, an eight-story building in the north and a broader five ten-story building in the style of Italian Renaissance on the River is closer to the south side.

The north wing is built of red brick and has regularly shaped window. The facades of the two lowest floors are made of smooth stones and consist of classic arcade arches. Originally, this part of the building consisted of 184 units and was completed in 1922.

The south wing is built of yellow-brown brick with terra cotta trim at the upper floors. This part of the building were completed in 1926, a single-storey modern entrance was added later.