NPS Form 10·900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service For NPS use only
National Register of Historic Places received APR 1 g 1984 Inventory-Nomination Form date entered See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name historic State Office Building and 'or common Lewis Cass Building 2. Location street & number 316 S. Walnut St~ N.f_A not for publication city, town Lansing N/-A vicinity of state Michigan code 026 county Ingham code 065 3. Classification
Category Ownership Status Present Use _ district __lL public __x_ occupied _ agriculture _museum __lL building(s) _ private _ unoccupied _commercial _park _ structure _ both _ work in progress _ educational _ private residence _ site Public Acquisition Accessible _ entertainment _religious _ object _ in process __x_ yes: restricted ___X_ government _ scientific _ being considered _ _ yes: unrestricted _ industrial _ transportation N/A _ no _ military _other: 4. Owner of Property name State of Michigan, Department of Management and Budget street & number 316 S. Walnut Street city, town Lansing NLA vicinity of state Michigan 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Ingham County Register of Deeds street & number Ingham County Courthouse city, town Mason state Michigan 6. Representation in Existing Surveys title Michigan State Survey Data has this property been determined eligible? _ yes _X_ no ----~------~------~--~~------date 1983 _ federal _K__ state _ county _ local ------~~~------depository for survey records Michigan History Division city, town Lansing state Mi:chi gan 7. Description
Condition Check one Check one __ excellent __ deteriorated __ unaltered _1{_ original site _lL good __ ruins _x_ altered __ moved date ______fair __ unexposed
Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance
Description - Page 1
Located In Lansing, the capitol of Michigan, the State Office Building (Lewis Cass Building> stands In a neighborhood of offices and parking lots two blocks southwest of the Michigan State Capitol on a slx-and one-half-acre lot, and faces east on Walnut Street. It Is a rectangular, broadly U-shaped, flat-roof, six story, Classical Revival structure with facades of cream-colored Amherst (Ohio) sandstone above an eight feet high (above ground) granite basement.
The State Office Building occupies the east end of a rectangular block bounded on the east by South Walnut Street, on the north by West Washtenaw Street, and on the south by West Kalamazoo Avenue, and faces east. The building Is set back from the street behind a shallow lawn, which contains, at the structure's north end, a bronze sculpture of George Washington, placed by Michigan's Masons In 1982.
The State Office Building stands on a reinforced concrete foundation and has a reinforced concrete structural system. The exterior sandstone wal Is are non-load-bearing. The floors are of hoi low-tile construction on concrete joists. In the building's exterior, the walls of the basement and lowest two floors, constructed of smooth-face masonry topped by a heavy classical cornice, form a podium for the colossal four-story pilasters which are the principal feature of the upper facades on the east, north, and south. The building's angles display paired pilasters, with Tuscan capitals, while the broad ranges o·f pilasters placed equidistant from one another--each set flanking a window bay--and extending across the center of the three "front" facades have Ion lc cap itals. These pi I asters support a broad entablature and massive upper cornice. The window bays contain steel casement windows with sandstone lintels and sll Is and horizontal, terra cotta spandrels decorated with swags and other classical ornaments. The building's broad frieze displays decorative sandstone medal lions and the cornice line Is accented by dentlls.
Originally, the Stat Office Building had a first-story, centrally positioned, triple-arch, main entran ceway on the east side and single-arch, central entranceways on the north and south ends. The building also had a seventh story above the main cornice. In the wake of a major fire In February, 1951, the seventh or attic floor was entirely removed down to the cornice, and the entrances entirely rebuilt. The entrance arches on the north and south facades of the build ing were entirely removed and replaced by windows. A pro jecting gray granite and glass entrance portal, with revolving doors, replaced the east-facing main entrance.
The building's main entrances, located In the center of the broad, east (Walnut Street) and west sides, lead to a central lobby area with a marble floor and dark red marble wal Is. Granite staircases with alumi num handrails extend down a half level to the basement level and up a half flight to the main floor. A doorway In the center of the building's north side, equipped with a handicapped-access ramp, also provides access to the basement level.
The building contains utility areas and maintenance shops In the north end and a cafeteria In the south end of the basement, carpentry and maintenance areas In the top or penthouse floor~ and office space In the remaining floors. Offices of the State of Michigan's Office of Management and Budget, Department of Mental Health~ Department of Agriculture, Office of the State Employer, Civil Service Commission, and Office of State Criminal Justice are housed In the structure. NPS Form 10·900·8 OMB No. 1024-0018 (3·82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form
Continuation sheet Item number Page
Description - 2
A bank of three elevators extends from the center of the main floor lobby through central lobbies In alI floors above. From the lobby on each floor, corridors extend north and south through the center of the building and dogleg to the ends of the U-shaped "wings." The corridors all have decorative wainscoting of dark green marble tile. Fire staircases are located In the central area adjacent to the lobby and at the ends of the "wing" corridors. Throughout the building the floors are of heavy linoleum or Industrial car peting on concrete and the ceilings of plaster or suspended acoustical tile. Minor modifications of wal Is between office areas are frequently carried out. 8. Significance
Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below __ prehistoric ___ archeology-prehistoric _ _ community planning ___ landscape architecture ___ religion -- 140(}--1499 __ archeology-historic _ _ conservation ___ law __ science - 150(}--1599 __ agriculture ___ economics _____ literature _ sculpture - 160(}--1699 _X_ architecture ____ education _____ military __ social/ -- 170(}--1799 ___ art __ engineering ___ music humanitarian -- 180(}--1899 _ commerce ___ exploration/settlement __ philosophy __ theater _x_190(}-- __ communications _____ industry Jl_politics /government __ transportation ___ invention _ other (specify)
Specific dates Built 19_12_=-192Z______!~~~der/ Archit_e~!._ __~ _. ___A_. _ !iQ_~
Significance- Page 1
The State Office Building CLewis Cass Building> has historical significance as Michigan's oldest standing state office building and as a symbol of state government. It has architectural significance as a major work of Lansing architect Edwyn Albert Bowd who designed churches, municipal, county and state buildings In Lansing and throughout Michigan fr om 1890 to 1940.
The Lewis Cass Building Is the third state office building erected by the State of Michigan In Lansing. In 1853 the first state office building In Lansing, a two-story brick, Renaissance-style structure, was constructed on what Is now the capitol square. Construction costs totaled $15,500. An 1863 addition nearly doubled the building's capacity to about 14,000 square feet. This structure was razed In 1873 to make way for the present State Capitol building. The previous year, however, the state had built an ltal lanate office building one block southeast of the capitol square on the southwest corner of South Washington Avenue and West Allegan Street. This building, which cost $30,693.94, was used by the State of Michigan until the Cass Building was completed. Sold In the early 1920s, It was soon demolished.
Public Act 241, approved by Governor Albert Sleeper on May 10, 1917, appropriated $800,000 over a four year period for the "• •• erection, construction and equipment of a new state office building ••••" Early In 1918 the State Office Building Board engaged Edwyn A. Bowd of Lansing to prepare plans and specifications. The building was to Include space for a state historical museum and the state library. On May 8, 1918, the State Office Building Board approved Bowd's design for the building. Construction, however, was postponed because of World War 1.
The Board advertised In March, 1919, for bids for the building's foundations and structural and exterior work. Because of the rampant Inflation In prices directly following the war, the bids came In much higher than expected. The lowest bid--from the WII I lam E. Wood Construction Company of Detroit--was for $682,643, or nearly the whole of the appropriation for the entire project. In April, 1919, the legislature appropriated an additional $400,000 and the contract was awarded to the Wood Company. At the same time the Board decided on the addition of a seventh floor, to house an auditorium, and directed the substitution of Amherst, Ohio, sandstone for the exterior In place of the more costly limestone originally chosen.
In June, 1919, the Board advertised for bids for completing the Interior and for building a small steam-heating plant for the structure and the legislature appropriated an additional $950,000. The lowest bld--$1,121,523 from the WII I lamP. Wood Construction Company--exceeded the appropriation, and no Interior work was done for several years. Nevertheless, costs for the building had risen to $1,192,808.59 by mid-December~ 1919.
Finally~ on January 11, 1921, Governor Alexander J. Groesbeck~ who took office In January, 1921, gave the completion of the State Office Building his top priority. In February, 1921, he obtained from the legislature an additional $1,107,500 to complete and equip the building. Total construction costs for the building were $2~857,500--three and one half times the 1917 appropriation. 9. Major Bibliographical References
See continuation sheet
1 0. Geographical Data
Acreage of nominated property About 2 acres Quadrangle name Lansing South Quadrangle scale 1 : 24 000 UT M References
8 A l.1..L§J l 6 l 9 , 9 ! 9 1s l o l 14 11 l3 13 l s 19 10 I l_U 111111111111 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing cLLJ I I 1 I ' 1 I oUJ I I 1 I 1 1 I I eLLJ I I 1 I 1 1 I 1[ FLJ I I I I I I I I GLLj I I I I I I I 1 HLLJ ll I II I I
Verbal boundary description and justification Bounded east by Walnut St., north by Washtenaw St., south by Kalamazoo St. West boundary is straight line from Washtenaw to Kalamazoo which runs 50 ft. west of the west end of the wings.
List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/f\ code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepare,d By name/title Charles C. Cotman, Historian organization Michigan History Division date October, 1983 street & number 208 N. Capitol Avenue telephone 517/373-0510 city or town Lansing state Michigan 12. State Historic. Preservation Officer Certification
The evaluated signifi,cance of this property within the state is: __ national _!_state __ local
As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 8~ 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service.
State Historic Preservation Officer signature title Director, Michigan History Division date For NPS use only certify that this property~s included in the Na!ional Register Enter ed in tlla date
Attest: date Chief of Registration
GPO 81U·78ll NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form
Continuation sheet Item number Page
Significance- Page 2
The completed structure served as the state office building (It also contained the state library and the law I lbrary> until the first unit of a new state governmental complex was completed In 1953. In February, 1951, a major fire In the building destroyed the structure's top floor and caused severe water damage elsewhere In the building. In the course of the refurbishment, designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls of Detroit, the ruined seventh floor was removed, the entrances reconstructed, and the Interior extensively remodeled. The repaired building was named the Lewis Cass Building (Jn honor of Michigan's territorial governor) on April 2, 1952 by the state legislature. The structure continues to serve as a state office bu II dIng.
Edwyn A. Bowd (1865-1940), architect of the State Office Building, received this commission after a long career In architectural practice. Bowd came to Lansing In 1889. In his early years he designed homes, commercial structures, and, In partnership with Earl H. Mead, at least one Lansing church, the First Baptist Church.
However, E.A. Bowd Is particularly known for his Neo-Classical-style Michigan public buildings, Including the county courthouses at Mason, Cadillac, and Stanton, built In 1902-1904, 191Q-11, and 1910 respectively, city hal Is In Hillsdale (1911-12) and Hoi land (1912-14>, and the Carnegie library and Masonic temple In Lansing. Before he received the State Office Building commission, Bowd was already wei I known for a number of major buildings at state Institutions, Including the administration building (1913-15) at the Michigan School for the Deaf In Flint, the school building (1911) and administration building (1916) at the Michigan School for the Blind In Lansing, and the female Infirmary (1913-15) at the Coldwater State Hospital. In addition, In the period from 1888 to 1920 he designed eight buildings, Including such major structures as the 1916 Olds Hal I and Women's Intramural Building, on the Michigan Agricultural Col lege (now Michigan State University> campus In East Lansing. The architect was recognized as one of the leading designers of major public buildings In southern Michigan from 1900 to 1925. The Lewis Cass Building Is one of the largest and most Imposing of these Neo-Classical structures.
Architect Bowd had no control over the selection of a site for the State Office building. The site cho sen was several blocks south of the Michigan State Capitol In a residential neighborhood. Today the building stll I stands separated from the large state governmental complex two blocks away. In 1921 city plan engineer Harland Bartholomew of St. Louis, In his report The Lansing Plan, a Comprehensive City Plan Report for Lansing, Michigan, Included a master plan for a state governmental complex located on the site of the present complex. In his comments concerning the plan, Bartholomew noted that
The plan disregards the newly erected state office building ••••this structure, which represents a considerable Investment of the public fund, has been shunted to the side and so located as to be without relationship to the capitol and without setting commensurate with Its size and Importance. NPS Form 10·900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form
Continuation sheet Item number Page
Significance- Page 3
Bartholomew's 1938 report for the Lansing City Plan Commission, A Report Upon the Comprehensive City Plan, Lansing, Michigan, reiterated the same view of the State Office Building's siting and of the need for a carefully planned state governmental complex. By 1937, according to the report, the state had outgrown the office space In the capitol and the one office building and was renting one-third of Its office space. The two Bartholomew reports seem to have been taken seriously by planning officials In Lansing, and many of their recommendations were eventually Implemented--Including that for a unified state governmental complex. NPS Form 10·900·& OMB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form
Continuation sheet Item number Page
9 - Bib llography
Bartholomew, Harland. The Lansing Plan, a Comprehensive City Plan Report for Lansing, Michigan. St. Louis, Missouri, 1921.
Bartholomew, Harland, and Associates. A Report Upon the Comprehensive City Plan, Lansing, Michigan. St. Louis, Missouri, 1938.
Beal, Vernon. "The 1952 Session of the State Legislature," Michigan History Magazine, XXXVI Fuller, Louis D. (ed.l Michigan: A Centennial History of the State and Its People. Vol. 1. Chicago: Lewis Pub I Ish I ng Company, 1939. Goodrich, Enos. "Locating the State Capitol at Lansing," In Michigan Pioneer Collections, VIII <1886), 121-130. Langlus, Adrian N. (ed.). Michigan State Government: A Conspectus of the Physical Plant. Lansing: Michigan State Administrative Board, Building and Constitution Division, 1972. Michigan Department of State. The Michigan State Capitol. Lansing: Michigan History Division, 1972. Obituary, "Edwyn A. Bowd," In Lansing State Journal, July 18, 1940, p. 1A. Proceedings of the State Office Building Board, January 16, 1918-December 26, 1922. Michigan State Archives, Lansing, Michigan. Woodford, Frank B. Alex J. Groesbeck: Portrait of a Public Man. Detroit: Wayne State University, 1962. Works Progress Administration. Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State. New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. AENR83311A AENR83311D CON1 #NR2 WASO Form- 177 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ("R" June 1984) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET State Office Building Ingham County MICHIGAN Date Due: ---='f-;;_....L---'----"'+-~'-"'-:r--.,- Entered 1 Recom./Criteria ·______Reviewer------·------Discipline ______Date ______·_see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: __ technical corrections cited below __ substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. location 3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use Public Acquisition Accessible 4. Owner of Property 5. location of legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? Dyes Dno 7. Description Condition Check one Check one D excellent · D deteriorated D unaltered D original site Ogood D ruins D altered D moved date ______Dtair D unexposed Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance D summary paragraph D completeness 0 clarity D alterations/integrity D dates D boundary selection 8. Significance · Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) D summary paragraph D completeness 9. 0 clarity 0 applicable criteria 0 justification of areas checked D relating significance to the resource D context D relationship of integrity to significance 0 justification of exception 0 other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property------Quadrangle name ______UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature title date 13. Other D Maps 0 Photographs D Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to------ Signed------Date------Phone:------ Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Missing Core Documentation Property Nar'!le County, State Reference Number State Office Building Ingham, Michigan 84001432 The following Core Documentation is missing from this entry: Nomination Form _X_ Photographs (Photograph 8 missing) _USGS Map MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE LANSING RICHARD H. AUSTIN SECRETARY OF STATE MICHIGAN 48918 MICHIGAN HISTORY DIVISION ADMINISTRATION, PUBUCATIONS RESEARCH, AND HISTORIC SITES March 22, 1984 208 N. capitol Avenue 517-37:H>510 STATE ARCHIVES 3405 N. Logan Street 517-373-0512 STATE MUSBJM 208 N. capitol Avenue 517-373-0515 MICHIGAN HISTORY DIVISION Carol D. Shull, Supervisory Historian National Register of Historic Places Branch Interagency Resource Management Division National Park Service U. S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 20240 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed are National Register of Historic Places nomination materials for the State Office Building (Lewis Cass Building) in Lansing, Michigan. , I certify that the intent-to-nominate notification requirements have been fulfilled. This property is being submitted for listing in the National Register. All notarized statements of objection and written comments concerning this property submitted to us prior to the sub mission of this nomination to are enclosed. Please direct all questions concerning this nomination to Charles C. Cotman, Historian (517/373-0510). Sincerely, ~.._M.~&f'~ Martha M. Bigelow, Director Michigan History Division and State Historic Preservation Officer MMB/vll enclosure MH-69