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61-607: The Wayne State University historic district consists of three buildings on 4735-4841 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit , Michigan : the Mackenzie House (4735 Cass), Hilberry Theatre (4743 Cass), and Old Main (4841 Cass), all on the campus of Wayne State University . The buildings were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1957 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Mackenzie House

122-506: A "T" shape with an auditorium that seated over 2,000 people. In 1908, a wing containing gymnasiums, laboratories and shops was added. The function of the building began to change in 1917, when Detroit Junior College opened its doors in the building. The enrollment in the college grew, crowding the building and the high school still housed there. In 1923, the College of the City of Detroit (CCD) replaced

183-827: A core area that attracted other public-oriented institutions to the area, including several music schools, the Merrill-Palmer Institute , the Detroit Historical Museum , and the College for Creative Studies . The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History , the Detroit Science Center , and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit also are located in the Art Center area. The Art Center portion of Midtown also contains substantial residential areas, including

244-585: A downturn for the Midtown area. Newly constructed buildings fell into foreclosure, and many of the formerly well-paid auto workers living in the area were out of work. By the time the recovery from World War II stimulated the economy, industry had relocated to the suburbs, and the area gradually became more residential. During the Great Depression , many of the older mansions were subdivided into apartments, and as demand for housing fell after World War II . In

305-694: A dozen different companies quarried the sandstone, before all consolidating into the Cleveland Stone Company by 1893, which was the largest sandstone producer in the United States at the time. Berea Sandstone is a host of oil and natural gas. Commercial gas development began in 1859–60 with a well at East Liverpool, Ohio . Oil was discovered in the Berea Sandstone in 1860 in Mecca Township, Trumbull County, Ohio . In Michigan, Berea Sandstone oil

366-581: A general hospital. In 1882 a new hospital building was constructed on what is now the campus of the DMC. Additional buildings were constructed in 1913 and 1928. Hutzel Women's Hospital, founded in 1868, was Detroit's second hospital. Grace Hospital was founded in 1883, and Children's Hospital was founded three years later. Detroit Receiving was founded in 1915, and moved to its present location in 1980. In 2012, two major construction projects were begun in New Center ,

427-455: A handful of buildings, presumably farm structures, were located in the area. The first east-west street in what is now Brush Park , in the southern section of Midtown, was not opened until 1852. It wasn't until during the Civil War , as the downtown district became more business-oriented, that northern Woodward Avenue began to be developed. Construction turned the area that is now Midtown into

488-480: A law school, and a graduate school. A large wing on Warren Avenue was added in 1937. The building continued to serve Wayne State, and in 1994 received major renovations and a new addition. Old Main was originally a T-shaped structure, but subsequent additions have enlarged the floor plan. The original building has a blue Bedford limestone base with Berea sandstone on the first floor. The upper three and one half stories are made of buff pressed brick. The main facade has

549-514: A number of historic districts and neighborhoods. In addition to the buildings within historic districts, there are numerous historically significant structures located within Midtown. Many of these structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and include structures from three multiple property submissions : the University–Cultural Center Multiple Resource Area Phases I and II, and

610-416: A primarily upscale, quiet residential district, far from the hustle of the city center. Urban development of the area accelerated in 1870, when the population of Detroit was nearly 80,000. Streetcar lines established in the 1860s allowed residents to more conveniently travel from the Midtown area to downtown. The West Canfield Historic District , platted in 1871, was one of the first recorded subdivisions in

671-467: A protruding square tower. The main entrance, located at the base of the tower, is through an elaborately carved Romanesque arch. The top of the tower includes a clock on each face. Midtown Detroit Midtown Detroit is a commercial and residential district located along the east and west side of Woodward Avenue , north of Downtown Detroit , and south of the New Center area. The area includes several historic districts . In addition, it contains

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732-576: A repertory theater. The building was re-christened in honor of Clarence B. Hilberry, the fourth president of WSU, and reopened in January 1964. The university continues to use the building to house its repertory theatre. In 2018, ground was broken on a major expansion project, the Hilberry Gateway Performance Complex. The Hilberry Theatre is a large rectangular two-story neoclassical building measuring 125 feet by 150 feet. The front facade

793-657: A residential area of some 14,550 people and covers 2.09 sq mi. The community area of neighborhoods is bounded by the Chrysler Freeway (I-75) on the east, the Lodge Freeway (M-10) on the west, the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) on the north, and the Fisher Freeway (I-75) on the south. The Midtown area is a general mixed-use community area of neighborhoods containing successive waves of development that have transformed

854-418: Is a Queen Anne house designed by Malcomson and Higginbotham and built in 1895. The original occupant was Detroit banker Frank Blackman. In 1906, David Mackenzie , principal of Central High School and founder of the College of the City of Detroit, moved into the house, where he lived until his death. His widow, Esther, continued living there until 1935. After Esther moved out, Wayne State University acquired

915-557: Is distinct from Berea Sandstone and is laterally separated by Antrim Shale . Berea Sandstone was formed in the Late Devonian period . Prior to the 1970s, it was assigned a Mississippian age. The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary was realigned based on research from Europe, but various geologists were not aware of the changes and so incorrectly assigned Berea Sandstone to the Kinderhookian (early Mississippian). The majority of

976-736: Is home the Detroit Medical Center, the largest private employer in the city of Detroit with more than 12,000 employees. The DMC has more than 2,000 licensed beds and 3,000 affiliated physicians. The DMC is the affiliated clinical research site for medical program at Wayne State University, the nation's fourth largest medical school. On March 19, 2010, Vanguard Health Systems announced plans to invest nearly $ 1.5 B in Detroit Medical Center , including $ 850 M for expansion and renovation, and $ 417 M to retire debts, pending approval of its acquisition. The newspaper Metro Times moved to

1037-557: Is of a Roman temple design with six fluted ionic columns flanked by two half columns supporting an entablature. Behind the columns are seven recessed bays with alternating doors and windows on the first floor and windows above on the second. The two floors are separated by a belt course. The side facade facing Cass is of a similar form as the front facade. Old Main was designed by Malcomson and Higginbotham and built between 1895 and 1896. It originally housed Detroit's Central High School . The original building plan had 103 rooms arranged in

1098-566: Is up to 72 meters (236 ft) thick in Lorain County, Ohio , and up to 79 meters (259 ft) thick in Huron County, Michigan . The sandstone was named "Berea Grit" by Ohio geologist J. S. Newberry in 1874. He named it after Berea, Ohio , for its extensive quarries of the stone. In Michigan, the petroleum industry has referred to the Ellsworth Shale as "Berea", but this formation

1159-666: The Cass Farm Multiple Property Submission . These structures include: The area that is now Midtown was first platted after the disastrous 1805 fire in Detroit, when the United States Congress authorized the platting of a new village at Detroit. Land titles were granted to settle remaining uncertainty over the ownership of some parcels, which was in part due to the then fairly recent departure of British colonial forces. During this platting, congress authorized

1220-487: The Chrysler Freeway (I-75) on the east, the Lodge Freeway (M-10) on the west, the Edsel Ford Freeway (I-94) on the north, and the Fisher Freeway (I-75) on the south. The Chrysler followed the course of Hastings Street, the center of African-American life in Detroit at the time. To house displaced residents, the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects were built in the far east of the Midtown area, near

1281-701: The Cincinnati Arch and are disconnected from each other. The sandstone overlies the Bedford Shale and the Ohio Shale and underlies the Sunbury Shale . Berea Sandstone is light gray to buff-colored in the form of siltstone and fine- to medium-grained sandstone. In places it is hard to distinguish from the underlying Bedford Shale. Berea Sandstone is classified as a member of the Waverly Group . Berea Sandstone

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1342-568: The Detroit Institute of Arts , and the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building. The district contains several cultural attractions. The library and art museum were built in the 1920s, heralding a City Beautiful movement in Detroit that aimed to establish the area along Woodward as the cultural center of the city. Wayne State University , then housed in the former Central High School, began offering four-year degrees. These institutions formed

1403-646: The East Ferry Avenue Historic District and scattered late-19th century homes to the east of the Detroit Institute of Art. These neighborhoods have been infilled with townhomes and other residential developments and revitalizations. South of Wayne State University, the North Cass (or Cass Farm ) area contains a substantial number of multi-unit apartment houses, many mixed with earlier single-family homes. This area has been heavily influenced by

1464-501: The Henry Ford Health System started the first phase of a $ 500 million, 300-acre revitalization project, with the construction of a new $ 30 million, 275,000-square-foot, Medical Distribution Center for Cardinal Health, Inc. and Wayne State University started construction on a new $ 93 million, 207,000-square-foot, Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio). As many as 500 researchers and staff will work out of

1525-889: The Maccabees Building in Midtown. In 2002 the district paid the owner of the Fisher Building $ 24.1 million in so the district could occupy five floors in the building; the Fisher Building in the New Center area now serves as the DPS headquarters. Three K-8 schools, Golightly and Spain in Midtown and Edmonson outside of Midtown, serve portions of Midtown. All residents are zoned to Martin Luther King High School , outside of Midtown. The DPS magnet schools Cass Technical High School and Detroit School of Arts are also in Midtown. Midtown also houses two campuses of

1586-531: The University Prep Schools charter school system: Prior to its closure, Murray-Wright High School served Midtown Detroit. At one point in the first decade of the 21st century a portion of Midtown was served by Dewey PK-8 for elementary school, while a portion was served by Edmonson Elementary. Two separate portions of Midtown were served by Golightly K-8 and Spain PK-8 for elementary school. At one point in

1647-402: The 1950s, demolition of out-moded houses and businesses began, a practice that extended into the 1980s. Wayne State University also began to have more influence in the area, rehabilitating old buildings and building new ones in the northwestern section of the neighborhood. The current boundaries of Midtown were also delineated when the interstate freeways through Detroit were built, particularly

1708-662: The Arnold E. Frank Building in Midtown in 2017. In 2016, an estimated 20,000 people lived in Midtown Detroit, a 7 percent increase since 2013. The neighborhood has one of the lowest crime rates in city, in part due to its relationship with the Wayne State University Police who patrol the neighborhood in addition to the Detroit Police. From 2008 to 2015, crime decreased 52 percent in Midtown compared to 18 percent in

1769-506: The Chrysler and what once had been the thriving Hastings Street community. As the focus shifted to revitalization in the 1990s, more structures in the area have been refurbished, by Wayne State, other public groups, and by private parties. In September 2005 the company Lovio George Inc., located at Forest and Third in Detroit, revealed a new logo for Midtown Detroit. In 2011, Midtown's apartment buildings were 94% occupied. Midtown Detroit

1830-609: The Detroit Junior College, crowding the building even more. Finally, in 1926, Central High School moved out of the building, leaving CCD as the primary occupant, along with a smaller College High School. In 1928, the latter closed, leaving CCD as the sole tenant. Five years later, Wayne State University was formed, uniting CCD with a College of Pharmacy, the Detroit Medical College, the Detroit Teachers' College,

1891-535: The Fisher freeway, and extends east and west from Woodward Avenue to Beaubien Street. Brush Park was developed beginning in the 1850s as a residential neighborhood for Detroit's elite citizens. Construction peaked in the 1870s and 1880s; one of the last homes built was constructed in 1906 by architect Albert Kahn for his personal use. Early residents of Brush Park included lumber baron David Whitney Jr. , his daughter Grace Whitney Evans, Joseph L. Hudson , founder of

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1952-657: The IBio Center. South of Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, the area of Midtown around Cass Park is at a substantial distance from both the downtown core and the influence of Wayne State. The area around Cass Park proper is anchored by Cass Technical High School and the Detroit Masonic Temple , but the portion near Woodward Avenue and the once-fashionable Park Avenue district are awaiting redevelopment. The Brush Park district proper runs from Mack Avenue to

2013-637: The Main Library in Midtown. The current library facility opened on March 21, 1921. The extension wings of the facility opened on June 23, 1963. Berea sandstone In the Appalachian Basin , Berea Sandstone is present in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, western West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. In the Michigan Basin , the sandstone is present in the eastern part of the state, thickest near Michigan's Thumb . The two deposits are separated by

2074-511: The Ontario sag, that if it was present at the formation of Berea Sandstone, could mean that it formed a continuous belt of sediment between the Appalachian and Michigan basins. Nevertheless, subsequent erosion disconnected the two deposits. Berea Sandstone is generally unfossiliferous . However some fossils have been found, including fish of the genera Ctenacanthus and Gonatodus , plants of

2135-611: The University constructing new buildings as well as repurposing older buildings located in the area. As of fall 2015, nearly 30,000 students were enrolled at Wayne State: over 18,000 undergraduate students and over 8,000 graduate students, with the remainder enrolled in professional programs. The Art Center (or Cultural Center) is centered on the Cultural Center Historic District : the Detroit Public Library ,

2196-614: The addition of other hospitals, such as Detroit Receiving Hospital , the campus of the DMC and its adjacent partner institutions (the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the John D. Dingell Veteran's Administration Hospital Center) now takes up most of the area between Mack Avenue on the south, Warren Avenue on the north, John R. on the west, and Beaubien on the east. Harper Hospital was founded in 1863, receiving its first patients, Civil War soldiers, in 1864. Two years later it opened as

2257-501: The area multiple times since it was first platted. The neighborhoods are dominated by the thoroughfare of Woodward Avenue , which runs north and south through the heart of Midtown. This neighborhood was previously known as Cass Corridor and many Detroiters continue to refer to it as such. Woodward Avenue, running north and south through the center of the neighborhood, is primarily inhabited by commercial businesses, public-oriented/cultural institutions, and religious buildings. The heart of

2318-402: The area. The district features large and expensive lots, and many prominent Detroiters settled on the block. A severe depression slowed development, but it picked up again in the late 1870s. The period from 1880 to 1895 brought a boom in the construction of elegant single-family and duplex homes in the Midtown area. The lots on Woodward were the most expensive and featured the most opulent homes;

2379-530: The area. Midtown's proximity to the automotive plants in the Milwaukee Junction area made it ideal for housing auto workers. During the 1910s and 1920s, larger apartment buildings were constructed in the area, and many remaining single-family homes were converted into boardinghouses. Commercial usage also increased in the area, particularly in automotive-related sectors: showrooms, service stations, and part supply businesses. The Great Depression heralded

2440-509: The center of Detroit, and families of means moved out of the stately houses along Woodward and in Brush Park. The construction of Orchestra Hall heralded a City Beautiful movement that turned much of the area into public-oriented space; the idea of turning Midtown into a cultural mecca continued with the construction of the library and the DIA in the 1920s. The rise of the automobile also changed

2501-468: The city overall. Wayne State University is located in Midtown. The College for Creative Studies is also located in Midtown and is one of the top art schools in the country. Additionally, the University of Michigan Detroit Center and Michigan State University Detroit Center are both located in the Midtown district. The area is zoned to Detroit Public Schools . At one time DPS had its headquarters in

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2562-427: The cultural center (the Detroit Public Library and the Detroit Institute of Arts ) is located directly on Woodward in the northern part of Midtown. The north part of Midtown west of Woodward Avenue is dominated by Wayne State University, whose campus subsumes nearly the entire northwest portion of Midtown north of Warren Avenue and west of Woodward. Wayne State University's campus covers 203 acres (0.82 km ) in

2623-448: The eponymous department store, lumber baron Lucien Moore, banker Frederick Butler, and dry goods manufacturer Ransom Gillis. During the 19th century, around 300 homes were built in Brush Park, including 70 Victorian mansions. The neighborhood is currently experiencing restoration of its historic homes; at present, about 80 original structures remain in the area. Brush Park's revival began in the 1990s and has accelerated recently. A number of

2684-563: The expansion of Wayne State, with some of WSU's campus extending into the northern section of North Cass, and much of the residential housing stock taken up by Wayne students. There are also a number of commercial buildings, particularly along the Cass Corridor just west of Woodward. Many of these support commercial businesses, and an independent retail study by the University Cultural Center Association has shown that

2745-458: The farm passed on to the couple and eventually their son Edmund. Edmund Brush began subdividing the farm in the latter half of the 19th century. Despite the early date of the platting of the Park Lots, development of the area was slow at first, as early 19th century growth in Detroit occurred primarily east and west of Woodward, along Fort Street and Jefferson Avenue . Even into the 1840s, only

2806-574: The first decade of the 21st century a portion of Midtown was served by Dewey PK-8 for middle school, while another section was served by Sherrard PK-8 for middle school; during that time Spain PK-8 served the rest of Midtown. Previously Malcolm X K-8 in Midtown and Burton K-8 outside of Midtown served portions of Midtown. Prior to its 2012 closure, the Detroit Day School for the Deaf was located adjacent to Midtown. Detroit Public Library operates

2867-927: The genus Annularia , and some brachiopods . Buildings constructed of Berea Sandstone include the Johnson County Courthouse in Iowa and the Brown County Courthouse in South Dakota. The Centre Block building of the Parliament of Canada , both before and after reconstruction , uses Berea Sandstone as window and door trim. Berea Sandstone has also been used as flagstone and for paving. Fine grained stone has been used for grindstones and whetstones . Quarrying of Berea Sandstone began in 1830. Until around 1840 or 1845, only grindstones were produced before diversifying into building and flagstones. More than

2928-579: The house to a new location within the same block to make room for the Hilberry Gateway Performance Project. The house was moved in April 2019. The Mackenzie House is a two-and-a-half-story red brick structure with a prominent round tower with a conical turret on one corner of the facade. A large wooden porch wraps around the opposing corner and shelters the front entrance. The building has a slate hipped roof with gables. The Hilberry Theatre

2989-501: The house, using it as the headquarters of the Women's Guild. It later provided office space for a number of other entities in the university. In the mid-1970s, the Mackenzie House was slated for demolition, until a group of Wayne State students protested. Their successful effort created a new organization, Preservation Wayne. The building now serves as the offices of the organization, renamed Preservation Detroit. In 2018, plans were made to move

3050-469: The lots immediately off the main street were soon filled with the homes of Detroit's upper class. School and religious buildings were also constructed in the area. As Detroit grew, the demand for apartment housing also grew; beginning in 1895, the construction in the Cass Farm area began to focus more on small apartment buildings. This was particularly true in the last portion of the district to be developed,

3111-478: The northwestern section of Midtown. Wayne's campus is irregular, and parts extend south of Warren (notably Old Main ) and north of I-94, out of Midtown and into the New Center neighborhood. Additionally, Wayne's athletic facilities are west of the Lodge Freeway. Wayne is one of Michigan's three research institutions and serves over 32,000 students. The first portion of what later became Wayne State University

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3172-572: The number of independent retail outlets in Midtown Detroit is increasing. The north Cass section also has a smattering of industrial buildings dating from the automotive heyday of Detroit. Many of these, such as the Willys Overland building, have been or are being converted into residential loft space. The Detroit Medical Center was organized in 1985 as a union among several hospitals: Harper University Hospital , Grace Hospital , Hutzel Women's Hospital , and Children's Hospital of Michigan . With

3233-520: The older mansions have been restored, and more have been stabilized. In addition, new condominiums have been built in the southern part of Brush Park, near the Fisher Freeway. In the far southeastern corner of Midtown, to the east of Beaubien and Brush Park proper, the now-demolished Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects were located near the Chrysler Freeway. Midtown contains within its boundaries

3294-435: The platting of land north of Detroit on both sides of the main thoroughfare, Woodward Avenue. These lots were known as the "Park Lots." The section of Midtown to the west of the Park Lots is known as the "Cass Farm" area, after the name of one of the original ribbon farms that ran north from the river through the area. The original Cass Farm ran between what is now Cass Avenue and Third Avenue. In 1816, Lewis Cass purchased

3355-439: The ribbon farm. The property was gradually developed over the years, with the sections closest to the river being developed first. By the time Cass died in 1866, a few of the blocks north of Martin Luther King Boulevard had just been platted. Cass's children continued to plat the area after his death. Two more farms ran through Midtown west of Woodward: the Jones/Crane Farm, named for De Garmo Jones , onetime mayor of Detroit, which

3416-406: The sand which formed the Berea Sandstone came from the north, flowing in a river from the highlands of eastern Canada. It was deposited in a river delta environment. Pepper, et al., hypothesized that the river flowed first into the Ohio basin before switching course to the Michigan basin, thus the Michigan Berea Sandstone would be slightly younger. There is a downwarp in the Cincinnati arch, called

3477-410: The school was renamed Wayne State University. Since the early 1940s, Wayne State University, backed by the City Planning Commission, has shaped the development of the surrounding area through its plan for growth. The availability of urban redevelopment grants beginning in the 1950s became an important funding resource for expansion of the university. The size of the campus has continued to expand, with

3538-490: The section south of Warren between Cass and Third. Here a number of small-scale apartment buildings were constructed around the start of the 20th century. As the city continued to expand, the character of the neighborhood changed. Even before World War I , the congestion along Woodward precipitated a change from upper-class housing to commercial ventures. The rise of the automobile made more distant neighborhoods such as Boston-Edison and Indian Village easily accessible from

3599-437: Was designed by the architectural firm of Field, Hinchman and Smith (predecessor of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls) and built in 1916-17 as the First Church of Christ Scientist. The auditorium was designed to seat more than 1,500 congregants. The Christian Science congregation used the building until 1961, when they sold it to Wayne State University. Wayne State remodeled the interior to create a theatre to seat 532 people, serving as

3660-399: Was located between what is now Third Avenue and the alley east of Fourth Street; and the Forsythe Farm, located between what is now Fourth Street and the Lodge Freeway. To the east of the Park Lots, the ribbon farm running through the midtown area was owned by John Askin , an Irish trader. Askin's daughter Adelaide married Elijah Brush , the scion of the well-known Brush family of Detroit;

3721-495: Was the Detroit Medical College, which was founded in 1868. The school of education was begun in 1881. In 1896, Old Main was built as Detroit's Central High School. College classes were added in 1913, and these Liberal Arts classes evolved into Detroit Junior College in 1917. The school began offering four-year degrees in 1923 and graduate courses were added in 1930. Three years later, the previously disparate colleges were united under one administration into Wayne University. In 1956,

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