Harmonie Centre
Harmonie Centre (Breitmeyer–Tobin Building) | |
U.S. Historic district Contributing property | |
View from Gratiot Avenue | |
Location | 1308 Broadway Street Detroit, Michigan |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°20′6″N 83°2′45″W / 42.33500°N 83.04583°W / 42.33500; -83.04583 |
Built | 1906 |
Architect | Raseman & Fischer |
Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
Part of | Broadway Avenue Historic District (ID04000656) |
NRHP reference No. | 80001918[1] |
Added to NRHP | March 10, 1980 |
The Harmonie Centre, also known as the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building, is an eight-story commercial building located at 1308 Broadway Street (at the corner of Broadway and Gratiot) in Downtown Detroit. It is part of the Broadway Avenue Historic District. It is also known as the Tobin Building. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1] The east necklace of downtown links Grand Circus and the stadium area to Greektown along Broadway. The east necklace contains a sub-district sometimes called the Harmonie Park District, which has taken on the renowned legacy of Detroit's music from the 1930s through the 1950s and into the present.[2]
History
The Breitmeyer–Tobin Building was built in 1906[3] for John Breitmeyer Sons, Florists, who were at the time the leading florists in Detroit.[4] The firm's president, Philip Breitmeyer, served as the mayor of Detroit from 1909 to 1911.[4]
In 1926, the ownership of the building was transferred to the Peninsular Bank Company, and the building was renamed the Peninsular Bank Building.[4] The bank failed,[5] and ten years later, in the depths of the Great Depression, the building was 75% unoccupied; the main tenant was the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, who occupied the top floor. Metropolitan was notable for its willingness to write small insurance policies for African Americans.[4] At around the same time, the owners of the building opened up office space to rental by African Americans; the building was one of the first downtown to do so.[4]
In 1944, Benjamin Tobin acquired the building, renamed it the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building,[5] and marketed the office space to black professionals.[4] Notable African American firms had offices in the building, including the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (the largest Black union in America at the time);[6] the law firm of Loomis, Jones, Piper and Colden; attorney Harold Bledsoe;[4] optometrists William H. and Lloyd Lawson; and future judges Damon Keith and Hobart Taylor Jr.[7]
The building has recently been refurbished, with commercial space on the first floor and various offices in the upper floors.
Description
The eight-story building, designed by the architectural firm of Raseman & Fischer,[3] is an unusual Beaux-Arts building from the turn of the century.[7] It includes glazed terra cotta elements.
See also
- Harmonie Club (Detroit, Michigan)
- Music of Detroit
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Harmonie Park District Archived 2015-05-09 at the Wayback Machine.Retrieved on January 31, 2010.
- ^ a b 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.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) P. 48. - ^ a b c d e f g Breitmeyer-Tobin Building Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine from the city of Detroit
- ^ a b Breitmeyer-Tobin Building from Detroit1701.org
- ^ Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845-2005. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6. P. 22.
- ^ a b Beth L. Savage, Carol D. Shull, United States National Park Service, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, Preservation Press, African American historic places, John Wiley and Sons, 1995, ISBN 0-471-14345-6, ISBN 978-0-471-14345-1, pp. 285–286.
- v
- t
- e
- Annapolis Park Historic District
- Arden Park–East Boston Historic District
- Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church
- Belle Isle Park
- Beverly Road Historic District
- Boston–Edison Historic District
- Broadway Avenue Historic District
- Brush Park Historic District
- Capitol Park Historic District
- Cass–Davenport Historic District
- Cass Park Historic District
- Cherry Hill Historic District
- Church of the Transfiguration Historic District
- Corktown Historic District
- Cultural Center Historic District
- Detroit Financial District
- Eastern Market Historic District
- East Ferry Avenue Historic District
- East Grand Boulevard Historic District
- East River Road Historic District
- Eastside Historic Cemetery District
- Fort Wayne
- Grand Circus Park Historic District
- Greektown Historic District
- Grosse Pointe Academy
- Grosse Pointe South High School
- Helen Newberry Nurses Home
- Highland Heights–Stevens' Subdivision Historic District
- Indian Village Historic District
- Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District
- Jefferson Intermediate School
- John and Edna Truesdell Fischer Farmstead
- Jos. Campau Historic District
- Louis G. Redstone Residential Historic District
- Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District
- Medbury's–Grove Lawn Subdivisions Historic District
- Midtown Woodward Historic District
- Michigan Avenue Historic Commercial District
- Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings
- New Amsterdam Historic District
- New Center Commercial Historic District
- Northville Historic District
- Norwayne Historic District
- Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District
- Palmer Park Boulevard Apartments District
- Palmer Woods Historic District
- Park Avenue Historic District
- Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District
- Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District
- Rosedale Gardens Historic District
- Rosedale Park Historic District
- St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Parish Complex
- St. Florian Church
- Springwells Park Historic District
- Sugar Hill Historic District
- Virginia Park Historic District
- Warren–Prentis Historic District
- Washington Boulevard Historic District
- Wayne State University Buildings
- West Canfield Historic District
- West Vernor–Junction Historic District
- West Vernor–Lawndale Historic District
- West Vernor–Springwells Historic District
- West Village Historic District
- Willis–Selden Historic District
- Woodbridge Historic District
- Woodward East Historic District
- Albert Kahn House
- Alden Park Towers
- Alexander Chapoton House
- Alexander Chene House
- Alger Theater
- Alpha House
- Amity Lodge No. 335 Temple — Spiritual Israel Church and Its Army Temple
- Antietam Street–Grand Trunk Railroad Bridge
- Architects Building
- Arthur M. Parker House
- Bagley Memorial Fountain
- Barlum Tower
- Belcrest Apartments
- Benjamin and Mary Ann Bradford House
- Bernard Ginsburg House
- Birwood Wall
- Carl E. and Alice Candler Schmidt House
- Carlton D. Wall House
- Cary Building
- Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
- Cass Motor Sales
- Cathedral Church of St. Paul Complex
- Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
- Central United Methodist Church
- Central Woodward Christian Church
- Chapel of St. Theresa–the Little Flower
- Chatsworth Apartments
- Century Building and Little Theatre
- Charles G. Curtiss Sr. House
- Charles J. and Ingrid V. (Frendberg) Koebel House
- Charles Lang Freer House
- Charles Trombly House
- Charles Trowbridge House
- Checker Cab Taxi Garage and Office Building
- Chestnut Street–Grand Trunk Railroad Bridge
- Christ Church Chapel
- Christ Church, Detroit
- Col. Frank J. Hecker House
- Commandant's Quarters
- Coronado Apartments
- Croul–Palms House
- Crescent Brass and Pin Company Building
- David and Elizabeth Bell Boldman House
- David Whitney House
- Dearborn City Hall Complex
- Dearborn Inn and Colonial Homes
- Defer Elementary School
- Detroit Club
- Detroit–Columbia Central Office Building
- Detroit Cornice and Slate Company Building
- Detroit Edison Company Willis Avenue Station
- Detroit–Leland Hotel
- Detroit Masonic Temple
- Detroit Naval Armory
- Detroit News Complex
- Detroit Savings Bank Southwest Branch
- Detroit Yacht Club
- Dry Dock Engine Works–Detroit Dry Dock Company Complex
- Duane Doty School
- Dunbar Hospital
- East River Road–North Hickory Canal Bridge
- Eddystone Hotel
- Edmund Atkinson School
- Edwin Denby High School
- Edwin S. George Building
- Edson, Moore and Company Building
- Eighth Precinct Police Station
- Elisha Taylor House
- El Tovar Apartments
- Elwood Bar
- Elizabeth Cleveland Intermediate School
- Engine House No. 11
- Engine House No. 18
- Ephraim and Emma Woodworth Truesdell House
- Farwell Building
- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Detroit Branch Building
- Ferry Street–Thorofare Canal Bridge
- Fisher and New Center Buildings
- First Baptist Church of Detroit
- First Congregational Church
- First Federal Building
- First Presbyterian Church
- First Unitarian Church of Detroit
- First United Methodist Church
- Ford–Bacon House
- Ford Valve Plant
- Fort Street Presbyterian Church
- Fort Shelby Hotel
- Fort Street–Pleasant Street and Norfolk & Western Railroad Viaduct
- Francis Palms Building & State Theater
- Franklin H. Walker House
- Frederick K. Stearns House
- Frederick Stearns Building
- Frederic M. Sibley Lumber Company Office Building
- Garden Bowl
- Garden Court Apartments
- General Motors Research Laboratory
- George and Mary Pine Smith House
- George P. MacNichol House
- George W. Loomer House
- Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Gibraltar Road–Waterway Canal Bridge
- Globe Tobacco Building
- Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Grand Army of the Republic Building
- Grande Ballroom
- Graybar Electric Company Building
- Great Lakes Manor
- Greenfield Union School
- Greenmead Farms
- Griswold Building
- Grosse Pointe Memorial Church
- Grosse Pointe Central Library
- Grosse Pointe War Memorial
- Grosse Pointe Yacht Club
- Hamtramck Stadium
- Harmonie Centre (formerly the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building)
- Henry Ford Hospital
- Henry Ford Square House
- Henry W. Baker House
- Herman Strasburg House
- Hibbard Apartment Building
- Highland Park General Hospital
- Highland Park Presbyterian Church
- Hook and Ladder House No. 5–Detroit Fire Department Repair Shop
- Hotel Stevenson
- Hudson–Evans House
- Hunter House
- Hurlbut Memorial Gate
- Hull's Trace North Huron River Corduroy Segment
- James A. Garfield School
- Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges
- Jefferson Hall
- Jerome H. Remick and Company Building
- John and Eliza Barr Patterson House
- John and Emma Lacey Eberts House
- John Harvey House
- John N. Bagley House
- John T. Woodhouse House
- Joseph Campau House
- Kingston Arms Apartments
- Lancaster and Waumbek Apartments
- Lawyers Building
- L. B. King and Company Building
- League of Catholic Women Building
- Lee Plaza Hotel
- Lewis Cass Technical High School
- Lilley Road–Lower Rouge River Bridge
- Lincoln Park Post Office
- Maccabees Building
- Majestic Theater
- Manchester Apartments
- Mariners' Church
- Marwood Apartments
- Marx House
- McKinley Elementary School
- Mellus Newspapers Building
- Merchants Building
- Metropolitan United Methodist Church
- Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse
- Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
- Michigan State Fair Riding Coliseum, Dairy Cattle Building, and Agricultural Building
- Moross House
- Mulford T. Hunter House
- Nacirema Club
- Nellie Leland School
- New Bethel Baptist Church
- North Woodward Congregational Church
- Orchestra Hall
- Orrin and Roxanne Fairman Kinyon House
- Orson Everitt House
- Ossian H. Sweet House
- Park Avenue House
- Parke-Davis and Company Pharmaceutical Company Plant
- Parke Lane Road–Thorofare Canal Bridge
- Pasadena Apartments
- Paul Harvey Deming House
- Penn Central Station
- Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School
- Perry McAdow House
- Philetus W. Norris House
- Phillip and Maria Hasselbach Dingledey House
- Pilgrim and Puritan Apartment Complex
- Ponchartrain Apartments
- Pontchartrain Club/Town House Apartments
- Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex
- Professional Plaza Tower
- Redford Theatre Building
- Redford Township District No. 5 School
- River Terrace Apartments
- Robert M. and Matilda (Kitch) Grindley House
- Rosa L. (McCauley) and Raymond Parks Flat
- Sacred Heart Major Seminary
- Sacred Heart Church
- St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church
- Saint Andrew's Memorial Episcopal Church
- Ste. Anne Roman Catholic Church Complex
- St. Bonaventure Monastery
- St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church
- St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church
- St. James Episcopal Church
- St. John's Episcopal Church
- St. John's–St. Luke's Evangelical Church
- St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church
- St. Joseph's Episcopal Church (1883)
- St. Joseph's Episcopal Church (1926)
- St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
- Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex
- Saint Paul Manor Apartments
- Saints Peter and Paul Academy
- Saints Peter and Paul Church
- Saint Rita Apartments
- St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church
- St. Theresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church
- St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
- Samuel L. Smith House
- Santa Fe Apartments
- Scarab Club
- Second Baptist Church of Detroit
- Sheldon Inn
- Shrine of the Black Madonna of the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church
- Sibley House
- Sidney D. Miller Junior High and High School
- Somerset Apartments
- South Pointe Drive–Frenchman's Creek Bridge
- S. S. Kresge World Headquarters
- Starkweather School
- State Savings Bank
- Stuber–Stone Building
- Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church
- Temple Baptist Church – King Solomon Baptist Church
- Temple Beth-El (Bonstelle Theatre)
- Temple Beth-El (Bethel Community Transformation Center)
- The Clay School
- The Harmonie Club
- The Kean
- The Palms
- The Players
- The Wardell
- Third Precinct Police Station
- Thomas and Isabella Moore Clyde House
- Thomas and Maria Blackman Bartlett House
- Thomas A. Parker House
- Thomas M. Cooley High School
- Thomas S. Sprague House
- Thompson Home
- Tiger Stadium
- Tivadar and Dorothy Balogh House
- Trinity Episcopal Church
- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Complex
- Trinity United Methodist Church
- Tushiyah United Hebrew School – Scott Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church
- US 12 Bridges
- U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House
- United States Immigration Station
- United States Postal Service Roosevelt Park Station
- Vanity Ballroom Building
- Verona Apartments
- Vinton Building
- Waltz Road–Huron River Bridge
- Warren Motor Car Company Building
- Wayne County Building
- Weil and Company – Gabriel Richard Building
- West Jefferson Avenue–Rouge River Bridge
- West Side Dom Polski
- WGPR-TV Studio
- Whittier Hotel
- William and Margot Kessler House
- William B. and Mary Chase Stratton House
- William C. Boydell House
- William H. Wells House
- William Hawkins Ferry House
- Wilson Barn
- Wilson Theatre
- WJBK-TV Studios Building
- Women's City Club
- Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church
- Wyandotte Odd Fellows Temple
- Detroit Industry Murals
- Edsel and Eleanor Ford House (Gaukler Pointe)
- Fair Lane
- Fisher Building
- Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
- Ford River Rouge Complex
- Fox Theatre Building
- Highland Park Ford Plant
- General Motors Building
- Guardian Building
- Mies van der Rohe Residential District, Lafayette Park
- McGregor Memorial Conference Center
- Parke-Davis Research Laboratory
- Pewabic Pottery
- The Henry Ford
- Chateau Frontenac Apartments
- Dodge Mansion
- Grand Riviera Theater
- Harper Hospital
- Lincoln Motor Company Plant
- Columbia (steamboat)
- Ste. Claire (steamboat)
- Woodward Avenue Baptist Church