When Cobo Arena was completed, the Detroit Pistons moved from Olympia Stadium which they had shared with the Detroit Red Wings at the time. Cobo Arena was opened in 1960, and the pistons moved in starting the 1961 season there. The Pistons didn't have a ton of success while at Cobo, making the playoffs only 9 times, and never making it out of the first round. The pistons played at Cobo until the 1978 season, when they were moved to the the Pontiac Silverdome, also home of the Detroit Lions. At that time, future mayor Dave Bing played for the Detroit Pistons. The Arena held various concerts until 2009. Every sitting President of the United States since 1960 to 2008 has addressed a convention or at least attended an event in the Cobo Center. In 2012, city leaders decided to tear down the wall that was separating the Cobo Center and the Cobo Arena and demolish the former arena to expand the convention center. Iconic moments such as KISS playing Detroit Rock City at Cobo Arena and the audio of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech can be found below.

Cobo Arena held its last event in 2009, a concert by the band Phish. 

More Info

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Now home to Detroit's convention center, Cobo Center dates back to 1960, when the original and now-demolished Cobo Arena was completed. Expanded and renovated throughout the decades, Cobo Center is named in honor of Detroit mayor Albert E. Cobo who was in office from 1950 to 1957. The former arena was home to the Detroit Pistons for many years and may be most historically-significant as the location of a 1963 speech by Martin Luther King Jr. In that speech, King delivered many of the same lines that would become famous in his later speech at the March on Washington, including the phrase "I have a dream." That speech was recorded by Motown Records and distributed as a single record entitled "The Great March to Freedom." With redevelopment plans and the construction of the Cobo Center, the former arena was demolished to expand the convention center which is best known today as the home of the Detroit Auto Show.

Cobo Center and Cobo Hall 

Classroom

Some interesting places to visit in a short time.

Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit was established in 1701 by
Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac. Cadillac had commanded Fort Michilimackinac in the
Mackinac Straits, and convinced King Louis XIV to create a colony further south
to defend the French fur trade against the British. On July 24, 1701, Cadillac
landed at what is now downtown Detroit with a group of 100 French soldiers and
100 Algonquin Native Americans who had traveled by birchbark canoe with him
from Montreal. Fort Pontchartrain de Detroit was named after Louis
Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain, a French minister of marine and colonial
affairs who had approved the voyage. “Du détroit” is French for “of the
strait,” referring to the narrow river separating what is now the U.S. and
Canada. At the time, the fort stood on a bank directly above the Detroit River.
The fort was built from logs into a stockade, with 12 feet tall pickets.1 It
took up about one square acre, covering the area that is now bordered by
Jefferson, Woodbridge, Griswold, and Shelby Streets.2&nbsp; A small village grew up within the walls,
which included Ste. Anne’s Church, the first building built in Detroit. On
February 2, 1704, Cadillac’s daughter Marie Therese was born at the fort, the
first European born in Detroit.1 

Cadillac encouraged Native American tribes to settle in the
area in exchange for protected trading opportunities. Within a few years, 2,000
people from the Huron, Miami, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes were living in
villages around the fort. In 1706, there was an attack on the fort by a local
tribe after one of the French commanders’ dogs bit an Ottawa. 30 Ottawa were
killed as well as the priest at Ste. Anne’s Church during the attack. Another
attack came from the Fox tribe in 1712, which lasted almost 3 weeks before
being put down by tribes allied with the French.1 

Cadillac began distributing lands around the fort to French
settlers in exchange for rent and a share of their crops. However, he often
charged unreasonable amounts and word got back to the French government of his corrupt
behavior. He was reassigned to the undesirable post of governor of the
Louisiana colony in 1710 and never returned to Detroit. (He eventually returned
to France, where he died in 1730.)1

By 1718, large sections of the fort were in disrepair, and
it was rebuilt. In 1740, the first home was built outside the fort walls by a
farmer named Jean Baptiste Baudry. Detroit’s population reached 900 in 1749,
and the Governor of New France offered incentives to get more Frenchmen to
settle and farm the area. The fort was expanded to accommodate the growing
population. However, tensions between the French and British increased, and in
1754, the French and Indian War began. France sent 400 militia to the fort along
with supplies. After years of intense fighting, the British took command of the
fort on November 19, 1760. At the time, there were about 2,000 inhabitants and
300 buildings.1 The British expanded the fort west and north by about 50 feet in
each direction.2

The fighting was not over though. Relations with the Native
Americans deteriorated under British rule. Ottawa Chief Pontiac led a campaign
to drive Europeans from the Great Lakes region. With 250 warriors, he laid
siege to Fort Pontchartrain for six months in 1763. (His campaign would ultimately
prove unsuccessful, and he signed a peace treaty with the British three years
later.) During the American Revolution, Fort Pontchartrain was fortified with
several hundred British soldiers. They used it as a base from which to make
attacks on Ohio and to hold American prisoners, including patriot Daniel Boone
at one point.1 In 1778, a new fort was built at a more strategic location and
named Fort Lernoult after British Captain Richard Lernoult (see separate Clio
entry on Fort Lernoult). If anything
still remained of the fort in 1805, it would have been destroyed by a widespread fire
that overtook the city, leveling every building except Fort Lernoult, which was
then renamed Fort Detroit.

A historical marker about Fort Pontchartrain exists on the Jefferson Ave wall of the Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown Riverfront Hotel, near the corner of Washington Blvd. Another marker and statue on the east side of Hart Plaza commemorates the landing of Cadillac with the first permanent settlers.

On July 24, 1701, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac landed near this site along with several hundred French and Native American settlers. Their purpose was to create a new French colony and protect the fur trade from the British. They quickly built Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit, a small stockaded settlement which would grow into the huge metropolis of Detroit. The fort would see many decades of skirmishes between the French, Native Americans, and British, before finally being replaced by Fort Lernoult in 1778.

Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit

When Cobo Arena was completed, the Detroit Pistons moved from Olympia Stadium which they had shared with the Detroit Red Wings at the time. Cobo Arena was opened in 1960, and the pistons moved in starting the 1961 season there. The Pistons didn't have a ton of success while at Cobo, making the playoffs only 9 times, and never making it out of the first round. The pistons played at Cobo until the 1978 season, when they were moved to the the Pontiac Silverdome, also home of the Detroit Lions. At that time, future mayor Dave Bing played for the Detroit Pistons.  The Arena held various concerts until 2009. Every sitting President of the United States since 1960 to 2008 has addressed a convention or at least attended an event in the Cobo Center. In 2012, city leaders decided to tear down the wall that was separating the Cobo Center and the Cobo Arena and demolish the former arena to expand the convention center. Iconic moments such as KISS playing Detroit Rock City at Cobo Arena and the audio of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech can be found below.

Known as the Detroit News
Building, Detroit News and Free Press Building, or the Detroit Media
Partnership Building, this Michigan State Historic Landmark was constructed in
1917 to house The Evening News
(established 1873, later known as the Detroit
News) [2; 5]. In 1988, the Detroit
Free Press joined the Detroit News
in a joint-operating agreement, and ten years later the Free Press moved into the News Building. Both papers moved to the
Federal Reserve Building in 2014, and the News Building was sold to Dan
Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services [2]. Part of the building is now
occupied by Molina Healthcare, one of Michigan's largest Medicaid HMOs; the
rest is still under renovation [1].

Two Rival Papers and the Home They
Shared

On May 5, 1831, before Michigan was even a state, the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer (later known as
the Detroit Free Press) published its
first issue. Owned by Sheldon McKnight, the Free
Press pushed for statehood and the formation of the Associated Press [3; 5].
It became the first daily paper in the Detroit area in 1835, and in 1853 (under
new owner Wilbur F. Storey) became the first American newspaper to publish a regular
Sunday edition. Storey was also responsible for publishing telegraphed national
news stories in addition to local news, as well as sending war correspondents to
Civil War battlefields. Thanks to these efforts, the Free Press was the first American newspaper published in Europe
[3]. Still in operation today, the paper had received eight Pulitzer Prizes by
1998 [5; 6].

The Detroit News was first
published as The Evening News on
August 23, 1873. Owned by James E. Scripps, a newspaper tycoon, the Evening News emphasized local interest
stories, pushed for political and business reforms, and was an immediate
success [2]. In 1916, the paper &nbsp;hired architect
Albert Kahn to design a large, modern building for the News. Kahn's Indiana limestone building features a façade lined
with inscriptions (below) and statues (of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of
movable type; William Caxton, who brought the printing press to England;
Christophe Plantin, a Renaissance printer; and Benjamin Franklin, founder of
the Pennsylvania Gazette and printer
of Poor Richard's Almanack) [2; 3].
The presses were housed in the basement, a tennis court on the rooftop, and a
library on the fourth floor. The building also featured murals, a fireplace, oak
woodwork, and leaded glass windows. The Detroit
News moved into the massive building on October 15, 1917 and began expansion
the very next year; the building and its addition now cover 404,000 square feet
[2; 3]. By the 1970s, the newspaper boasted three Pulitzer Prizes and the
largest evening circulation in America [6].

Competition between Detroit newspapers (especially the Free Press and Detroit News)
was fierce. One example given in a 2015 Detroit
News article: a Soviet sailor who abandoned ship in Detroit was hidden by
journalists of the Free Press at a
hotel, who hoped for a good article out of the deal. Detroit News reporters pretended to be immigration officers in
order to steal the sailor and the story [3]. By the 1980s, the Free Press and the Detroit News were essentially the last major papers standing in the
city of Detroit, and in 1988 agreed to a joint operation with separate
newsrooms but shared expenses [2; 3]. Ten years later, the Free Press moved from 321 West Lafayette (where it had operated for
around 75 years) to the Detroit News Building [2]. The size of the building
makes utilities and maintenance expensive, however, and in 2014 the employees
of both newspapers relocated to the Federal Reserve Building [3]. The Detroit
News Building was sold to Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services [2]. Part
of the building is now occupied by Molina Healthcare, one of Michigan's largest
Medicaid HMOs; the rest is still under renovation [1].

&nbsp;

Historic Marker
Inscriptions:



Michigan
Registered Historic Site / The Detroit Free Press / Older than the
state of Michigan, the Detroit Free Press began publishing as the Democratic
Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer May 5, 1831. The Free Press
supported the drive for statehood, helped establish the Associated Press and
sent reporters to Civil War battlefields. By the time the paper moved in July
1998 to this Albert Kahn-designed building, the Free Press staff had
earned eight Pulitzer Prizes. / Erected 2000 by Michigan Historical Center, Michigan
Department of State. (Marker Number S665.) [5]



Detroit Free Press / Michigan
Centennial Business / This plaque is issued by the Historical Society of
Michigan in recognition of Detroit Free Press founded in 1831 for more than 150
years of continuous operation in service to the people of Michigan and for
contribution to the economic growth and vitality of our state. / Erected by Historical
Society of Michigan. [6]



The Detroit News / On August 23, 1873 James E. Scripps
began publishing The Evening News, one of the first popular, low-priced
evening newspapers in Michigan. The News specialized in short, local,
human interest stories. Resolutely independent, it has continuously championed
political and business reform. In 1917 the enterprise moved to this building
designed by Albert Kahn. By its centenary, The Detroit News had attained
the largest evening circulation in America. / Erected 1976 by Michigan
History Division, Department of State. (Marker Number S450.) [7]



Building
Inscriptions:

Mirror of the public mind.
Interpreter of the public intent - troubler of the public conscience. Reflector
of every human interest - friend of every righteous cause - encourager of every
generous act. Bearer of intelligence - dispeller of ignorance and prejudice - A
light shining into all dark places. Promoter of civic welfare and civic pride -
Bond of civic unity - Protector of civil rights. Scourge of evil doers. Exposer
of secret iniquities - Unrelenting foe of privilege and corruption [2].

Known as the Detroit News Building, Detroit News and Free Press Building, or the Detroit Media Partnership Building, this Michigan State Historic Landmark was constructed in 1917 to house The Evening News (established 1873, later known as the Detroit News) [2; 5]. In 1988, the Detroit Free Press joined the Detroit News in a joint-operating agreement, and ten years later the Free Press moved into the News Building. Both papers moved to the Federal Reserve Building in 2014, and the News Building was sold to Dan Gilbert's Bedrock Real Estate Services [2]. Part of the building is now occupied by Molina Healthcare, one of Michigan's largest Medicaid HMOs; the rest is still under renovation [1].

Detroit News and Free Press Building

<h4>The Spirit of Detroit</h4>
In the late 1950s, the City of Detroit was in its heyday with the car industry, music scene, and other industries booming. When the new City County building was being constructed, Detroit’s (and Michigan’s) most famous sculptor, Marshall Fredericks, was commissioned to create an appropriate statue.&nbsp;Fredericks designed&nbsp;the main seated figure of the statue to represent Man. In the left hand of the statue is a golden orb representing God, while in the right hand is a family group, including a mother, father, and child. In Frederick’s view, the inclusion of the family was to represent the noblest human relationship. In fact, the plaque on the statue reads, “Through the spirit of man is manifested in the family, the noblest human relationship.” The marble backdrop features the seals of the City of Detroit and Wayne County.1&nbsp;
As the statue rusted over the years, it took on a distinct green color, giving it the alias “Jolly Green Giant.” The statue has also been given a personification, such as on April 19, 1963, when two pranksters painted large green footprints leading from the statue to the “Passo di Danzo” statue nearby, which showcases a nude female ballet dancer. This prank hinted at the statue dating scene in downtown Detroit.
Additionally, the Spirit of Detroit statue donned a Red Wings jersey in celebration of the teams Stanley Cup win in 1997. It has since become tradition for the statue to wear the jersey whenever the Red Wings are victorious.2&nbsp;
<h4>Inscription on the Statue</h4>
The inscription on the symbol wall is from II Corinthians, 3:17 "Now the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
The sculpture by Marshall Fredericks was designed to continue the thought conveyed by the inscription and reflects in its conception the spirit underlying all human ideals - The relationship of God to Man.
The main figure represents the spirit of man. In his left hand he holds a symbol of God, and in his right hand, a family group: Father, mother, and child. The artist expresses the concept that God, through the spirit of man, is manifested in the family, the noblest human relationship.3

Sitting on the corner of Woodward Avenue and East Larned Street in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the Spirit of Detroit is a large bronze statue that represents the soul and spirit of the city. Dedicated in 1958, the Spirit of Detroit statue represents both the modern and historical essence of the city. Additionally, the statue represents the city’s reputation for sports by sporting a jersey if a particular team is in the playoffs. The bronze statue is also featured on the logo of many of the city’s departments, and it is certainly one of the city's more prolific landmarks in the downtown area.

The statue was built by Metro Detroit sculptor Marshall Fredericks at a cost of $58,000 in 1958, which equates to about $467,750 today. It sits atop a 60-ton marble base and it is 26-feet tall, making the Spirit of Detroit the largest bronze cast monument made anywhere in the world since the Renaissance. The casting for the statue was conducted in Oslo, Norway. 

Spirit of Detroit

The Detroit Historical Society was founded in 1921. The
mission of the society is to “tell Detroit’s stories and why they matter.” Attorney
Clarence M. Burton was instrumental in the organization’s founding, bringing
together a group of local historians after he had generated interest in Detroit’s
history by donating an important collection of historical documents to the
Detroit Public Library. In 1928, the society founded the Detroit Historical
Museum, collecting and preserving artifacts important to Detroit’s past. The museum
opened on the 23rd floor of the Cadillac Tower downtown (then known
as the Barlum Tower) and was billed as “the highest museum in the world.”1 The museum joined the American Association of Museums in
1940, and fundraising began to find a larger space to house its collection. In
July 1944, the historical society handed over management of the museum to the City
of Detroit while it continued to raise funds for a new building. The museum was temporarily
moved to the Homer Williams historic home on Wayne State University’s campus,
to allow students better access to the collection. A new museum was built in Detroit's Cultural Center and dedicated on July 24, 1951. 2 On the bottom level of the museum, is the popular “Streets
of Old Detroit” permanent exhibit, which takes visitors through a recreated
Detroit of the 1840s, 1870s, and 1900s. Other permanent exhibits include “The
Motor City” (how Detroit became known for its auto industry), “The Arsenal of
Democracy” (Detroit’s role during WWII), and “Frontiers to Factories:
Detroiters at Work, 1701 – 1901.” &nbsp;The museum
was remodeled with new exhibits and upgrades and a more “customer-focused orientation”
in 2006 and again in 2012.&nbsp;3
 Overall, the historical society maintains a
collection of over 250,000 artifacts, archives, and photos. It also manages the
Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle (see other Clio entries). The society offers
numerous programs and events, including lectures, historic house tours, seasonal
film series, and workshops. Finally, the society has a variety of educational online
resources for historical research, such as a “Building Detroit” game, an “Encyclopedia
of Detroit,” and an interactive map showing important sites that make Detroit
an “Arsenal of Democracy” during WWII.

The Detroit Historical Society was founded in 1921 and opened the Detroit Historical Museum in 1928. The society and its museum seek to "tell Detroit's stories and why they matter." The current museum building was dedicated in 1951 and features exhibits on Detroit's growth from a frontier town to one of the largest urban areas of the nation. 

Detroit Historical Society and Museum

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant was built by Henry Ford in 1904. It was the first building owned by the newly formed company. The Piquette plant is three stories tall, 402 feet long, and 56-feet wide. The brick building cost $76,500 to build. It had state-of-the-art fire safety features for the time, including fire walls, fire doors, fire escapes, and an automatic sprinkler system. 355 windows provided natural light and ventilation. Most of the offices and the sales department were on the first level. Henry Ford had his office on the second floor, and the third story had drafting and “experimental rooms” to serve as think-tanks for engineering innovative car ideas. 2The Piquette plant began by producing Ford Models B, C, F, K, N, R and S. The Model N was already the world’s best-selling car. But cars were still considered a luxury item. When Ford began manufacturing the Model T in September of 1908, it was considered the first automobile the middle class could reasonably afford. The popularity of the Model T was due to its being made of lightweight steel, inexpensive, easy to drive and repair, along with good performance on bad roads, and a seating capacity of five.2 The car sold for $825 at first, $575 just a few years later, and only $300 in 1925. It was affectionately nicknamed "Tin Lizzie." By the time Model T production ended in 1927, 15 million had been sold.3The Ford Motor Company outgrew the Piquette plant in just six years. Operations were moved to the Highland Park facility in 1910. The plant was then used by Studebaker until 1933 and other various manufacturing operations until the 1980s.

Built-in 1904, this plant was the first building built for the Ford Motor Company and was the location where Henry Ford and his team built the first Model Ts, which became accessible to upper-middle-class families at the time owing to the mass production methods utilized here. Ford Motor Company became the largest manufacturer of automobiles while the plant was in production between 1904 and 1910. Today, the Piquette plant is preserved as a museum dedicated to telling the story of this internationally-significant industrial site. The building was purchased in 2000 with donations from the Henry Ford Preservation Association and is being continuously restored with new exhibits and expanded outreach programs.4 It became a National Heritage Landmark in 2006 and is run as a non-profit by volunteers. It can also be rented for weddings and events.

Ford Piquette Avenue Plant

Opened in 1929, the Guardian Building is one of Detroit’s
most magnificent art deco skyscrapers. Designated a National Historic Landmark
in 1989, the Guardian Building was designed by Wirt C. Rowland of the leading
Detroit architecture firm Smith, Hinchman &amp; Grylls. The cathedral theme is
emphasized on the exterior by the two towers at each end of the building
connected by a somewhat lower navelike block. The theme is played out in the
interior with the tall banking lobby designed as a nave with side aisles. A
specially formulated orange brick, known as Guardian brick, clads the steel
frame. Brilliantly colored terra-cotta, glazed tile, and gold-stained glass and
metal decorate it inside and out. The Guardian Building was the world’s tallest
masonry structure when it was completed.

Originally named the Union Guardian Building, this building
was created for the Union Trust Co. when it required more space after a merger
with the equally huge National Bank of Commerce. 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.
But the Great Depression hit Detroit — and the bank — hard. In 1932, the bank
went into receivership as the New Union Building Corp. 

During World War II, the building was used as a command
center for the Army as it coordinated ordinance production. After the War and until
the present day , the building has served various tenants as an office building
in downtown Detroit.&nbsp;

Nicknamed the “Cathedral of Commerce,” the Guardian Building is one of the most expressive Art Deco skyscrapers ever built. Built in 1928 and finished in 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including art modern designs. The main frame of the skyscraper raises 36 stories, capped by two asymmetric spires, one extending for four additional stories.  

Guardian Building

David Whitney, Jr was a lumber baron, a shrewd real estate
speculator, and Detroit’s wealthiest man. At one point, the lumbering company
that he owned with his brother Charles was the largest lumber dealer in the US.
He bought property at Grand Circus Park before it was developed, when it was
still on the outskirts of downtown Detroit. In 1887, he built a five-story
office building there called the Grand Circus Building. (the whitney) At the
time of his death in 1900, Whitney was worth about $15 million, or $338 million
adjusted for inflation, and his son, David Charles Whitney, inherited his
fortune.1, 2 In 1915, David C. Whitney hired the firm of legendary
architect Daniel H. Burnham to design a skyscraper in place of his father’s
Grand Circus Building. Burnham, considered “the father of the skyscraper,” was
the architect behind the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in
Washington.3 The David Whitney Building is one of only three
buildings left in Detroit by Burnham, the others being the Ford Building and the Dime Building. It was completed for $1 million, or about $22.7 million today.4 At 18 stories high, the Neo-Renaissance structure originally
had a steel frame with a decorative terra cotta, brick, and stone exterior. The
building’s most notable feature was its 3,000-square-foot inner atrium lobby,
making up about 20% of the entire lot.5 The lobby rose up four
floors, or 71 feet from ground level, with a skylight meant to provide maximum
natural sunlight to shoppers below. The interior was faced with white tile,
terra cotta, marble, and gold leafing. The first four floors of the building
were home to high-class stores, while the upper floors were reserved as office
space, largely rented out by medical offices.5, 6 The David Whitney Building became one of Detroit’s most
iconic skyscrapers and a historical centerpiece around Grand Circus Park. However,
in 1959, the exterior of the building was “modernized,” and the decorative
cornices, parapets, and columnns were removed. The David Whitney Building was owned
by the Whitney family until 1965; at the time, it was still 90% occupied by
over 300 doctors and dentists.4 Over the next few decades, it suffered
the same fate as many of Detroit’s other business buildings though; with a declining
city population, commercial tenants decreased as well. By the 1990s, the vast
skyscraper was left completely vacant. Plans for a hotel fell through in 2000,
but were revived again in 2011. The building was sold for $3.3 million to the
Whitney Partners, with the help of a $1 million loan from the city’s Downtown
Development Authority.4 $92 million was put into restoration costs, bringing the
exterior back to its original classical design, and converting the building
into an Aloft hotel and apartments.6 The restoration earned the 2015 Governor’s
Award for Historic Preservation.7

Completed in 1915, the David Whitney Building was named after wealthy lumber tycoon David Whitney, Jr. It was designed in a Neo-Renaissance style by the architectural firm of Daniel H. Burnham, known as “the father of the skyscraper.” The building cost $1 million to complete and is 18 stories high. It features an ornate exterior and a beautiful four-story atrium with skylight. Originally, it housed high-end shops and medical offices buildings. As tenants gradually moved out with Detroit’s decline, the building was left vacant for years. A $92 million award-winning restoration project was completed in 2014, and the building now serves as a hotel and apartment space. 

My Own Dowtown Detroit Walking Tour

Cobo Center and Cobo Hall

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information