Alarm Bells in Detroit

Last Call for City's Historic Police and Fire Headquarters?

By Paul Vachon | Online Only | Aug. 23, 2010

Detroit Fire Department

Credit: Andrew Jameson

On June 11, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced a $53 million plan to relocate the headquarters of the city's police and fire departments to a modern structure that once served as a temporary casino. On July 20, the city council approved the purchase of the former casino for $6.3 million and the sale of $100 million in bonds to finance the necessary retrofitting. The building will also house a state-of-the-art crime lab to be staffed by the Michigan State Police. The city hopes to move into the new facility by late 2012.

While the news comes as a great relief to some in the city (the police department has repeatedly requested a new facility), uncertainty over the future of the 1923 and 1929 buildings has caused great concern within the preservation community. Neither building is a designated city landmark.

According to Bing's spokeswoman, Karen Dumas, both buildings "will be evaluated and declared surplus property. [They] will then be appraised to determine their market potential and will eventually be listed for sale."

City officials' swift action on relocation plans has been tied to the condition of the police headquarters. Inadequate maintenance has contributed to numerous problems: crumbling plaster, mold, water leaks, vermin, etc. In 2001 the prisoner lock-ups on the eighth and ninth floors were closed due to roach infestation and inadequate ventilation.

Bing commented, "I am glad to finally be able to move our officers into a safe, sound, and functional structure that is also citizen friendly and accessible. This represents an important step in making our city more operationally efficient ... and safe."

But local preservationists dispute the severity of the buildings' problems. "The city has exaggerated their reports of the structural problems at police headquarters," says Karen Nagher, executive director of Preservation Wayne.

Detroit Police Headquarters, designed by Albert Kahn

Credit: Mike Russell

The police department building, an eight-story Albert Kahn structure completed in 1923, reflects the architect's move toward neoclassical design. Inspired by majestic Italian palaces, the 64,000-square-foot building is often referred to simply by its address, 1300 Beaubien. Its location on the east side of downtown near the courts and the county jail make the building well suited for police work.

"The local criminal justice community may want to reuse the site for a new jail," explains reporter John Gallagher, who covers local development for the Detroit Free Press.

The Fire Department headquarters was built in 1929, on a site long occupied by a fire house. Designed by Hans Gehrke, who built many of Detroit's neighborhood engine houses, the neoclassical building has a red-brick exterior. The five-story structure features several circular-topped bays to accommodate fire engines on both the Washington Boulevard and Larned Avenue sides, each trimmed in terra cotta. It still has both its original recessed double doors at street level and its double-hung windows on the upper floors. The Fire Department's administration and arson labs are housed on the upper levels.

Each January the building becomes a community gathering spot during the North American International Auto show, held at Cobo Center across the street. Different automakers rent the first floor of the Fire Department for VIP parties and hospitality suites. The building has also become popular with Michigan's growing motion-picture industry, and is occasionally used for location shoots.

There's hope for the fire station. It lies within the city's new Financial District National Historic District of Detroit, designated in December 2009, affording it a degree of protection.

While the future of both buildings is unclear, Gallagher of the Free Press takes a cautiously optimistic position, keeping in mind Michigan's slow but steady economic recovery.

"My guess is that by the time the police move into their new HQ, the market will have recovered a little, and we may see somebody come forth with a residential conversion plan. We may also see a debate on possible demolition."

The potential for demolition is always a risk in Detroit, which prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to include the city's downtown historic buildings on the list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places in 2005. Since then, more than 20 preservation groups created the Greater Detroit Historic Preservation Coalition to find ways to reuse historic structures in the revitalization of the city. Despite the efforts of local groups such as Preservation Wayne, many historic sites—Old City Hall, Tiger Stadium, and the Kahn-designed Donovan building (the onetime headquarters of Motown Records)—have been lost. Others, like Michigan Central Station, remain empty ruins.