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37665 Ord 23_11_37665 Ord 23_11 2/15/12 10:41 AM Page 1 ORDINANCE NO. 23-11 ORDINANCE NO. 23-11 the district range in height from two (2) to CHAPTER 25 forty seven (47) stories tall; the average ARTICLE II being twelve (12) stories tall. The row of TO ESTABLISH THE HISTORIC four (4) to five (5) story Victorian buildings DETROIT FINANCIAL DISTRICT AND on the east side of Woodward Avenue is TO DEFINE THE ELEMENTS OF sandwiched between single, taller build- DESIGN FOR THE DISTRICT. ings on each of its two corners. The AN ORDINANCE to amend Chapter 25, prominent skyline-defining buildings on Article II, of the 1984 Detroit City Griswold Street range in height from eigh- Code by adding Section 25-2-182 to teen (18) to forty-seven (47) stories tall; establish the Historic Detroit buildings in the blocks between Shelby Financial District and to define the Street and Washington Boulevard are ten elements of design for the district. (10) or fewer stories, with the exception of IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE the Detroit Bank and Trust Tower at 211 PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF DETROIT West Fort Street, which is twenty-eight (28) THAT: stories. In general, there is little uniformity Section 1. Chapter 25, Article II, of the of building heights within the district. 1984 Detroit City Code be amended by (2) Proportion of Building’s Front adding Section 25-2-182 to read as follows: Façade. The proportions of individual Sec. 25-2-182. Historic Detroit Financial front façades vary greatly within the dis- District. trict. Buildings over ten (10) stories tall are (A) A historic district to be known as significantly taller than wide, and are usu- the Historic Detroit Financial District is ally located on corners of blocks or occu- established in accordance with the provi- py their entire block. Most other buildings sions of this article. in the district are also taller than wide, (B) This historic district designation is with notable exceptions of several build- certified as being consistent with the ings facing Fort Street, the Detroit Fire Detroit Master Plan. Department Headquarters at 250 East (C) The boundaries of the Historic Larned Avenue, and a few smaller build- Detroit Financial District are as shown on ings on Shelby Street, which are wider the map on file in the office of the City than tall or proportionally neutral. The Clerk, and are as follows: non-contributing building at 501 Beginning at the intersection of the Woodward Avenue and the building at centerline of Woodward Avenue and the 611 Woodward Avenue are significantly centerline of Jefferson Avenue to the cen- wider than tall. Buildings with front-facing terline of Congress Street to the center- light courts, such as the Dime Building at line of Bates Street to the centerline of 719 Griswold Street, appear to have two Cadillac Square to the centerline of tall tower projecting upward from a single, Woodward Avenue to Fort Street to the multi-story base. The façades of the neo- centerline of Griswold Street to the cen- classical style First National Building at terline of Lafayette Boulevard to the west- 660 Woodward Avenue follow the irregu- erly line of Lot 17 (extended) of “Re-sub- lar footprint of its site, and because of its division of Lot 14,” Subdivision to the cen- substantial height, provide a backdrop to terline of the alley south of and parallel to the small-scaled buildings adjacent to it Lafayette Boulevard to the centerline of on Woodward Avenue. Skyscraper build- Shelby Street to the centerline of ings of the Art Deco style have multiple Lafayette Boulevard to the centerline of setbacks in their wall surfaces as the Cass Avenue to the centerline of the alley buildings rise, with faceted and decorative south of and parallel to Lafayette results. The Detroit Free Press Building at Boulevard to the centerline of Washington 321 West Lafayette Boulevard is com- Boulevard to the centerline of Larned posed of a center tower with two lower Street to the centerline of Shelby Street to wings, neutralizing its proportions. Tall the centerline of the alley south of and buildings of the International style tend to parallel to Congress Street to the center- rise as a single slab. Where buildings that line of Griswold Street to a line (extended) are individually taller than wide either 50 feet N of the N line of Jefferson Avenue share a party wall or abut each other, they to a line 108 feet W of the W line of may collectively form a row that is wider Griswold Street to the centerline of than tall, particularly on the east side of Jefferson Avenue to the point of beginning. Woodward Avenue. (D) The defined elements of design, as (3) Proportion of Openings Within the provided for in Section 25-2-2 of this Façades. The buildings within the Historic code, are as follows: Detroit Financial District are each com- (1) Height. The thirty-six buildings in posed of approximately thirty-five percent 1 37665 Ord 23_11_37665 Ord 23_11 2/15/12 10:41 AM Page 2 (35%) to sixty percent (60%) openings in the side lot lines. Buildings consistently their front façades. Shapes and sizes of abut each other throughout the district; openings generally depend on the style public rights-of-ways separates stretches and age of the buildings. Entrances are of adjacent buildings when they occupy often centered prominently on the front partial or entire blocks. Where there are façades, with revolving doors set back in parking lots as a result of building demoli- an arched, covered area of portico. Large tion, the original rhythm is broken. openings above the entrance openings, (6) Rhythm of Entrances and/or Porch ground floors, and mezzanine levels in the Projections. Most primary entrances are base of the buildings frequently contain prominently centered on their front subdivided windows rising up through façades, especially on the classically multiple stories. Plate glass storefront and derived buildings, and are commonly display windows on the ground floors of recessed within single or multiple orna- commercial buildings are commonplace. mental openings. Some buildings have Above the ornate bases of Neoclassical colonnades or monumental porticos, with and Art Deco buildings and simpler their entrances set behind. international Victorian buildings are rows of double- style buildings often have entire base sto- hung sash windows that are twice as tall ries recessed behind a colonnade of as wide and are often arranged in pairs or piers. The Guardian Building at 500 triples, sometimes divided vertically by Griswold Street has its main entrance at spandrels. Subdivided glazing is often sit- its northwest corner, and Victorian com- uated within large, ornate arched, square mercial buildings along Woodward tend to or rectangular openings in the attic sto- have entrances to the sides of storefronts. ries. Replacement windows that are fitted Some corner buildings have corner to existing openings are common in the entrances. Most entrances are at grade, district. Some International style buildings with the exceptions of the buildings at 611 with curtain wall construction feature Woodward Avenue and the west elevation undivided faces of fixed pane glass, or of 211 West Fort Street, which each fea- individualized treatments, such as hexag- ture a set of steps that rise with the slope onal shaped window glass in precast con- of their sites, and United States District crete frames of One Woodward Avenue. Count at 231 West Lafayette Boulevard, (4) Rhythm of Solids to Voids in the which sits on a high basement and has Front Façades. Most buildings in the dis- steps leading to its main entrance. trict are of steel-frame construction, which (7) Relationship of Materials. A great creates a structure for which windows are variety of building materials exist through- inserted in a regular arrangement of out the district, with concentrations of fin- columns and rows between the base floor ished, pressed or glazed brick, limestone, and the attic. The regular rhythm of win- Mankato stone, terra cotta, marble; cast dows arranged one over the other in a and porcelain enamel and glass facing grid pattern prevails throughout the dis- primary façades. Base stories are com- trict. The base and attic stories of build- monly faced or partially faced in granite,. ings are varied in architectural treatment, Materials utilized for window surrounds but may feature regular rhythms of and frames are cast concrete, steel, alu- arched, square or rectangular openings minum, bronze and wood. Architectural on first and attic stories. The Detroit Fire embellishments tend to be in cast and Department Headquarters at 250 West carved stone, glazed terra cotta, Pewabic Larned Street features double firehouse tile, and red sandstone. Common brick doors within arcaded openings on its appears on side elevations that were not Washington Boulevard and West Larned intended to be visible. Bronze grills, metal Street Façades. The International style fire escapes, and aluminum and steel building at 611 Woodward Avenue fea- framing elements are also visible. In gen- tures a checkerboard pattern of window eral, the district is rich in its varieties and placement, while the Federal Reserve relationships of materials. Bank Annex at 160 West Fort Street fea- (8) Rel a t i ons hi p of Texture s . The smoot h tures alternating horizontal bands of glass surfaces of glazed or painted brick, glazed and marble panels supported by a stain- terra cotta, polished marble, polished gran- less steel grid above its all-glass tall first ite, and large expanses of glass contrast story. In general, the district displays a with the matte finishes of limestone and variety of regularly arranged fenestration unpainted brick with mortar joints.

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