Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan - Case Study Example

Number] Write of the essay here Number] Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan Known as “Detroit’s largest art object”, the Fisher Building is one of the most recognized buildings present in Detroit. This building has been able to drop jaws of the tourists from over 80 years. The Fisher building; originally constructed by the Fisher brothers is known as the “body of Fisher” as they bagged fame from this masterpiece. This building was inaugurated on 1st September, 1928 at the Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue (Cantor 40). This building was once known as “Cathedral to Commerce”. This 441 foot long tower is festooned to the nines of beautiful marbles that were brought from France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Africa, New York, Massachusetts and Missouri, breathtaking mosaics, ceilings full of paintings and full of 430 tons of bronze and brass. A very renowned and famous architect, Albert Kahn said, “A superbly designed complex which displays some of the finest craftsmanship in any Art Deco style building constructed in the U.S. in the 1920s”. His saying proved the beauty that is embedded in this building (Kavanaugh 19). A beauty that took place Like other associated history of Detroit, the Fisher brother also had a relation with the automobile industry. The Fisher brothers; -– Frederick J., Charles T., William A., Lawrence P., Edward F., Alfred J. And Howard A. – Made many fortunes by making automobiles in the rising car industry of Detroit. From the start of their boyhood, these young boys learnt from their parents to play and work together as all for one and one for all. Bringing their strong bond, they resided in Detroit in 1908 and founded Fisher Body Co. “Their business was founded just three months before the birth of General Motors Corp.” Unlike most of the millionaires present in Detroit, the Fisher brothers quite often donated their wealth for the betterment of the city and its citizens. They donated millions in numerous charities, civil causes, churches and many other educational institutions and helped a lot in making Detroit as one of the best cities in the world. The Detroit News said in 2001 that they brothers told their architect to construct “the most beautiful building in the world” and the quality of the tower will not be lessened to save money. It was the dream project that everyone wished to see (Darden and Darden 57). The building-making ceremony took place on the August 1927 when Fred Fisher took the first shovel full of dirt at the groundbreaking. This ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Detroit, John W. Smith and the Governor Fred W. Green. Many other famous personalities of Michigan and Detroit also took part in this ceremony. The Fisher brothers wanted this building more than an ordinary office that would serve as their car company’s headquarters. They wanted this building to be the major center for entertainment and shopping. They had the noble intention of giving this building as a gift to the people of Detroit. It was labeled as a “Huge testimonial to their faith in Detroit.” Beauty of this building This 29-story Fisher building is known as one of the three Historic Landmarks that are present in Detroit. Among these, The Guardian Building and Fox are included. For the constructions of the building, more than 40 types of marble species brought from different parts of the world have been used there. From the base ground to the topmost 50 feet, the exterior part is finished in form of polishing by using Oriental granite and Minnesota pink marble. All above this, Beaver Dam Marvilla marble is used on the street fronts and courts have been built by using Carthage marble. These marbles were positioned and cut in a way that gave very different and unique textures to the exterior. The beauty of this building is defined as, “the sun (plays) on differences of seeing markings and grain on each block that identify the individual pieces from their neighbors,” (Dunbar and May 617). At this stage, Kahn decorated the majority parts of the interiors in very traditional styles with a touch of classical details. Fisher’s building was more creative than any type of work that was done by Kahn. The majority of the decorations and artworks of this building reflected American culture that comprises of agriculture, art, transportation and commerce. For frescoes, mosaics and sculpture Kahn approached to Geza R. Maroti, a famous artist from Budapest, Hungary. Maroti was an artist who was leading art movement of his nation. He was also involved with Eli Saarinen and was working with the famous Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills. The hemlock and style motif was the traditional elements from the tradition of Hungarian that were brought over by Maroti from the Central Europe. The three-story lobby is presented with hand-painted barrel-vaulted ceilings. “The ceiling is a mass of gorgeous color, shimmering like the plumage of exotic birds.” said by The News. “No business building in America has been so lavishly decorated with a barbaric wealth of color.” said The Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record. The ceilings of the building feature fauna and flora theme that are covered in evergreen needles and redheaded cherubs. The custodians used gallons of buttermilk in order to wash the ceiling. Present along the walls are 26 lunettes that have symbolical designs and other subjects like thrift, peace, navigation, music, knowledge, justice, art and agriculture. When considering the entire architecture of the building, the entire building has been decorated in such a way that not a single visible part of the building erupts the entire classic and expensive nature of the building. Every corridor on each and every floor has cove ceilings and even the elevator doors also have a bronze cast and so do the walls, the ceilings, the windows and each and every decoratable corner of the building has been decorated with the Bronze. Such a huge expense of beauty is not found in any other building in the entire United states, not only the Michigan area, especially in an office building. Such kind of decorations is hardly found in any hotel throughout the united states (Dunbar and May 617). With such a grand architecture, it was inevitable for the building to not receive any recognition locally, nationally and internationally. In 1978, the Fisher building was finally declared a Detroit landmark on its 50th Birthday, a feat achieved by only two buildings before it. By 1989, the building was declared a National Historic Landmark by the United States. Due to such huge recognition, not only has the building gained popularity, but also has embarked for itself a special place in the field of artists. There have been three nationally recognized Fine Art Galleries that were conducted inside the building, prominently by the London Group and the Gertrude Kasle Gallery. The Gertrude Kasle Gallery was located in the 310th suite of the building from 1965 to 1976. This gallery hosted the artistic innovations from various 20th century artists such as Philip Guston, Grace Hartigan etc. The London Group Art Gallery was located in the 1980s and the 1970s in the premises of the building on the third floor, hosting paintings by renowned artists such as Karel Appel, Arman etc. Near the floor, a large shield made of bronze is present on the lower relief. It features a half-nude figure of Mercury; the God of bearer massages and transportation. Around the shield, the marble in warms brown, red and cream colored are also present. The major principals that the bronze depict are the figures that symbolize ancient world’s four elements; water, fire, earth and air (Darden and Darden 57). As the building was covered in gold-leaf faced tile, it was given the nickname of the Golden Tower. However, during World War II (WWII), it was feared that this beautiful and unique glittering building would be treated as target fro various bombings by the enemies. Because of this, the building was covered by an asphalt material. After World War II ended, the covering asphalt was unable to be removed unless the damage could have been caused. To cover this, the building was then covered with green terra cotta tiles. After many years, on July 1st 200,1 the very famous and known Farbman Group from Southfield, Mich., bought the Albert Kahn and Fisher Building for near to $30 million. The company’s chief executive officer and also the president, David Farbman had a very connection to this building. Albert Kahn was his great-granduncle. This made him more strong to buy this building, as a family legacy. “It is certainly, by far, our most impressive acquisition and is the jewel in our portfolio.” With all these fancy decorations and such a majestic and grand architecture, the major aim of the Fisher Building was symbolic. Its aim was to symbols in front of the global economies that the American economy is a prosperous and diverse one and has every bit of potential to be considered as a force to be reckoned with even in times of distress, such as the great depression in the 1920’s. It was also a symbolic value of the emerging city of Detroit in the state of Illinois which was to become one of the greatest business centers in modern America. Truly, the building proved its worth. Work Cited George Cantor. Explore Michigan: Detroit. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2005. Print Joe Darden, Joe T. Darden. Detroit: Race and Uneven Development. US: Temple University Press, 1990. Print. Kelli B. Kavanaugh. Detroits Michigan Central Station. London: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Print Willis Frederick Dunbar, George S. May. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State. US: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995 Read More