| One Griswold Street | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2022 | |
 Interactive map of One Griswold Street | |
| Former names | Standard Savings Building Raymond James Building |
| Alternative names | Church of Scientology Detroit |
| General information | |
| Type | High-rise |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| Location | 1Griswold Street,Detroit,Michigan, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°19′42.5″N83°02′45.5″W / 42.328472°N 83.045972°W /42.328472; -83.045972 (One Griswold Street) |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Renovated | 2017 – October 15, 2018 |
| Owner | Church of Scientology |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 122 feet (37 m) |
| Roof | 110 feet (34 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Concrete Limestone |
| Floor count | 9 |
| Floor area | 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | George D. Mason |
| Renovating team | |
| Main contractor | Roncelli, Inc. |
One Griswold Street | |
| Part of | Detroit Financial District (ID09001067) |
| Added to NRHP | December 14, 2009 |
| References | |
| [1] | |
One Griswold Street (formerly also known as theStandard Savings Building and theRaymond James Building) is ahigh-rise building in theFinancial District ofDetroit,Michigan, United States. The building sits at the intersection ofGriswold Street and WestJefferson Avenue, on the samecity block occupied by150 West Jefferson. Since 2007, the building has been owned by theChurch of Scientology, which operates the building as theChurch of Scientology Detroit. Between 2017 and 2018, the building underwent an extensive renovation that restored much of its interior appearance, including a grand staircase andmezzanine for the first and second floors.
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One Griswold Street is located at the intersection ofGriswold Street and WestJefferson Avenue in theFinancial District ofdowntown Detroit.[2][3] Nearby buildings include150 West Jefferson, located adjacent to One Griswold Street on the samecity block,[4] andOne Woodward Avenue, across Griswold Street.[5]Philip A. Hart Plaza is located across Jefferson Avenue from the building.[5] The site is historically notable as the location of the first church founded in the city of Detroit,Ste. Anne de Detroit, established by French explorerAntoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701.[2][6] Ahistorical marker for the church is present at the site,[2] while the church moved to its current location insouthwest Detroit in 1886.[5]
One Griswold Street is a nine-story-tall[note 1] high-rise with alimestone facade that was built in theneoclassical style.[9] The interior features a grand staircase on the first floor that leads up to amezzanine second floor,[9] in addition to stained glass windows and a tiled roof.[10] The exterior corner facing the intersection has a largestreet clock attached to the building.[10] Some of the design elements for the building were designed by Detroit-based sculptorCorrado Parducci,[5][9] while according toEmporis, thearchitect responsible for the building wasGeorge D. Mason.[1] The building has a totalfloor area of roughly 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2).[4][11][12][13] A large sign bearing the name of the building's tenant is displayed on top of the building.[4]
The building was constructed in either 1927[1] or 1930 to serve as the headquarters for the Standard Savings bank.[4] As such, it was also known as the Standard Savings Building.[4][9][14] The building later served as offices forRaymond James Financial,[4] leading to it also being known as the Raymond James Building.[15] However, by 2007, the building was vacant.[15]
In October 2007,[4][16] the building was purchased by theChurch of Scientology for $3.5 million.[14][15][7] The organization had had a presence in the Detroit area since 1963 and originally operated a facility alongJames Couzens Highway, though at the time of the purchase, the organization's main site in the area was in nearbyFarmington Hills, Michigan.[17][18] The organization announced that One Griswold would serve as their new regional headquarters,[15] with the staff of the Farmington Hills location to make up the core staff of the new downtown location.[4] Following the purchase, the organization listed their Farmington Hills property for sale for $1.5 million.[4]
By 2015, the building was still vacant and unused.[14] However, on May 13 of that year, the Historic District Commission (HDC) held a hearing which included a proposal by the Church of Scientology to renovate the building.[14] At the meeting,Gensler, a globalarchitecture firm that works with the Church of Scientology in the United States, made several proposals, including replacing a large sign on the top of the building that read "Raymond James" with one reading "Scientology", installing another "Scientology" sign above the building's street clock, adding a large ornamentalcross over the front door, and adding bothHVAC equipment and a deck to the building's rooftop.[9][12] Additionally, Gensler stated that interior renovations would include returning the first and second floors to their original appearance by restoring a grand staircase and a mezzanine that had been removed at some point in the building's history.[9] However, the HDC tabled the proposals for a meeting later that year, withCurbed Detroit reporting that the commission was unhappy with the proposed changes to the rooftop and how they would affect the appearance of the historic building.[9]
On July 17, 2017, theDetroit City Council approved a permit for the Church of Scientology to begin a planned $8 million renovation of the building.[4][7][19] Thegeneral contractor for the renovation was Roncelli, Inc., a firm based inSterling Heights, Michigan.[4][8] By September 2018, renovations were well underway, with the "Scientology" sign erected on top of the building.[6] While it is uncommon for buildings in the Detroit Financial District to have rooftop signs as the Scientology building does, the organization was successful in getting permission for the sign based in part due to the precedent set by the former tenants Raymond James Financial.[17]
On October 7, 2018, the building was dedicated in a private ceremony led by the Church of Scientology's leaderDavid Miscavige and attended by about 2,000 spectators.[13][7] As part of the ceremony, a portion of Griswold Street near the building was closed to traffic.[20] The building opened to the public the following day,[10] with the organization hosting guided tours.[5] According to Church of Scientology representativeKarin Pouw, the organization would be the sole tenant of the building, but would host activities from nonprofit and community organizations free of charge.[7]
Media related toOne Griswold Street at Wikimedia Commons