There's no question that Lafayette Park is a Detroit landmark. Today, there's no question that it's a national one, too.
Detroit's Mid-Century Modern masterpiece on the outskirts of downtown has been named a National Historic Landmark, one of four awarded the designation by the National Park Service today.
Lafayette Park is Michigan's 41st National Historic Landmarkand one of only 2,564 nationwide. That doesn't count two auto plants that were struck from the listafter being demolished, but itdoesinclude the SS Columbia, which was towed out of the state last fall. The NPS records on the Boblo boat have not been updated yetto reflect the 113-year-old steamship's change of address.
There are now 10 federal landmarks in the city of Detroit -- 11 if you count the other Boblo boat, the SS Ste. Claire, which is associated with Detroit but currently located in Ecorse and facing an uncertain future. The last Detroit location to receive the nod was the McGregor Memorial Conference Center in February.
Considering that the National Historic Landmarks Program has been around since 1935, today's announcement is a big deal, said William Worden, retired director of the Detroit Historic Commission.
"It's a big deal in terms of public perception, honor and all of that," he said. "It doesn't carry with it any regulatory implications or protections that it didn't already have being on the National Register of Historic Places, but when you look at the list of National Historic Landmarks in Detroit, Michigan and the country as a whole, you see there are very few. It is an honor in terms of how Lafayette Park will and should be seen."
Prestige and controversy
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office hired Quinn Evans Architects of Ann Arbor to put together the extensive nomination for Lafayette Park as part of its Michigan Modern Project, which set out to document and promote Michigan's Mid-Century Modern resources. The firm started on the process in fall 2012 and turned inthe paperwork this past October.
Lafayette Park is the largest collection of works by renowned architect Mies van der Rohe, one of the fathers of the International style of architecture. Indeed, when you think of Mid-Century Modernarchitecture, what you think of probably looks like a Mies. And when Lafayette Park was being planned, Mies was already quite the architectural superstar.
The first large building to go up in Lafayette Park was the Pavilion Apartments, completed in 1959 and featuring Mies'trademark: lots and lots and lots of glass. The two-story Mies Townhouses are some of the more desirable pieces of real estate in Detroit, routinely fetching $150,000-$200,000 a pop for the three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath units.The twin Lafayette Towers were added to the skyline in 1963. There are also a number of other buildings in the development designed by other architects, though they all follow Mies' lead.
Though the neighborhood is celebrated today, its past is not without controversy.
The Housing Act of 1949 ushered in the urban renewal programs of the 1950s by giving citiesfederal money toacquire and clear neighborhoods that were considered slums. And Lafayette Park was the first large-scale clearance urban renewal project in the country, taking outthe city's Black Bottom neighborhood. This was one of the poorest areas in the city and home to a large number of African Americans. Their ramshackle homeswere razedto make way for the gleaming modern towers that were inhabited by wealthier people.
"Black Bottomwas really a thriving community, and the way this project happened, it didn't have any requirements for resettling people," said Ruth Mills, architectural historian for Quinn Evans Architects, who worked on the nomination. "But it was an integrated community from the beginning, not economically integrated but racially integrated."
Indeed, U.S. Rep."Charles Diggs, (Judge)Wade McCree, Judge George Crockett and others all lived in Lafayette Park," said Ken Coleman, an author and expert on black history in Detroit. "Even Berry Gordy had a condo there by 1965."
This is the first project to receive landmark status for its role in the urban renewal process, partly because, as Mills said,"Lafayette Park was one of the few urban renewal projects that's done it successfully."
The other National Historic Landmarks named today are:
- First Peoples Buffalo Jump in Cascade County, Mont.
- George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Va.
- Red Rocks Park and Mt. Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp in Jefferson County, Colo.
Dan Austin, assistant editor for opinion digital/interactive, also runs the Detroit architectural resource HistoricDetroit.org. He has written two books, "Forgotten Landmarks of Detroit" and "Lost Detroit." Follow him on Twitter @HistoricDET and on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/HistoricDetroit.
