Share on Facebook
Grand Circus Park Historic District
Grand Circus Park
Grand Circus Park Historic District is located in Michigan
Location: Detroit, Michigan
 United States
Coordinates: 42°20′10″N 83°3′2″W / 42.33611°N 83.05056°W / 42.33611; -83.05056Coordinates: 42°20′10″N 83°3′2″W / 42.33611°N 83.05056°W / 42.33611; -83.05056
Built: 1867
Architect: Multiple
Architectural style: Mixed (more than two styles from different periods)
Governing body: Private
NRHP Reference#: 83000894; 00001488 (boundary increase)[1]
Added to NRHP: February 28, 1983; December 07, 2000 (boundary increase); December 12, 2012 (additional documentation approved)[2]

Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit, Michigan that connects the theatre district with its financial district. It is bisected by Woodward Avenue, four blocks north of Campus Martius Park, and is roughly bounded by Clifford, John R. and Adams Streets. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1] The building at 25 W. Elizabeth was added to the district in 2000, and additional structures located within the district, but built between 1932 and 1960, were approved for inclusion in 2012.[3]

Contents

History [edit]

A part of Augustus Woodward's plan to rebuild the city after the fire of 1805, the city established the park in 1850. The Detroit Opera House faces Grand Circus Park. The grounds include antique statuary and old-fashioned water fountains. Near this historic site, General George Armstrong Custer delivered a eulogy for thousands gathered to mourn the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Architect Henry Bacon designed the Russell Alger Memorial Fountain (1921) in Grand Circus Park. Bacon's other projects include the Lincoln Memorial (1915–1922) in Washington, DC. The fountain contains a classic Roman figure symbolizing Michigan by American sculptor Daniel French who sculpted Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial.[4]

Grand Circus Park

The half-moon shaped park is divided down its center by Woodward Avenue, the city's main thoroughfare. Its eastern half is anchored by the Alger Fountain and capped on its north western edge with a statue of William Cotter Maybury. Its western half is anchored by the Edison Fountain and capped on its north eastern edge with a statue of Hazen Pingree.

Among the notable buildings encircling the park are the David Broderick Tower and David Whitney Building on the south, Kales Building, and Central United Methodist Church on the north, and Comerica Park and Detroit Opera House on the East.

Development [edit]

On November 12, 2007, Quicken Loans announced its development agreement with the city to move its headquarters to downtown Detroit, consolidating about 4,000 of its suburban employees in a move considered to be a high importance to city planners to reestablish the historic downtown.[5][6] The construction sites reserved for development by the agreement include the location of the former Statler on Grand Circus Park and the former Hudson's location.[7] (The western edge of the park was formerly home to the now demolished Statler and Tuller hotels). Grand Circus is serviced by a People Mover station.

East necklace [edit]

The Detroit Opera House is located at Broadway and Grand Circus. The east necklace of downtown links Grand Circus and the stadium area to Greektown along Broadway. The east neckace contains a sub-district sometimes called the Harmonie Park District, which has taken on the renowned legacy of Detroit's music from 1930s through the 1950s to the present.[8] Near the Opera House, and emanating from Grand Circus along the east necklace are other venues including the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts and the Gem Theatre and Century Club. The historic Harmonie Club and Harmonie Centre are located along Broadway. The Harmonie Park area ends near Gratiot and Randolph. The Detroit Athletic Club stands in view of center field at Comerica Park. Part of the east necklace, the area contains architecturally notable buildings planned for renovation as high-rise residential condominiums such as the Gothic Revival Metropolitan Building at 33 John R St. The Hilton Garden Inn is also in the Harmonie Park area. The east necklace area is serviced by the People Mover at Cadillac station and Broadway station.

Photo gallery [edit]

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. 
  2. ^ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/10/12 - 12/14/12". National Park Service. December 21, 2012. 
  3. ^ "Grand Circus Park national historic site distinction in Detroit updated". Detroit Free Press. January 8, 2013. 
  4. ^ Zacharias, Pat (September 5, 1999). Monuments of Detroit Michigan History, Detroit News. Retrieved on November 21, 2007.
  5. ^ Howes, Daniel (November 12, 2007).Quicken moving to downtown Detroit. The Detroit News. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.
  6. ^ Duggan, Daniel and Tom Henderson (November 13, 2007).Gilbert: Moving to Detroit the right thing' - 'and the smart thing'.Crains Detroit Business. Retrieved on November 14, 2007.
  7. ^ Howes, loc. cit.
  8. ^ Harmonie Park District.Retrieved on August 23, 2009.

References [edit]

  • Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3. 
  • Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 0-933691-09-2. 

External links [edit]

Wikipedia content is licensed under the GNU Free Document License or Creative Commons CC-BY-SA
Loading...
Loading...
Top Videos
Latest Videos
Images Source: Flickr. Images licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

Here you can share your comments or contribute with more information, content, resources or links about this topic.