Frederick Stearns Building | |
 | |
| Location | 6533 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit,Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°20′45″N83°0′24″W / 42.34583°N 83.00667°W /42.34583; -83.00667 |
| Built | 1899; ca. 1910 (addition) |
| Architect | William B. Stratton;Albert Kahn |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001927[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 14, 1980 |
| Designated MSHS | January 8, 1981[2] |
TheFrederick Stearns Building is a manufacturing plant located at 6533 East Jefferson Avenue inDetroit,Michigan. The building was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1980 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981.[1][2] It has been converted to condominiums.[3]
Frederick Stearns & Company, established in 1855,[4] was a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in 19th century Detroit. In the late 1890s,Frederick K. Stearns (son of the firm's founder, Frederick A. Stearns) commissionedWilliam B. Stratton to design this building[3] (Stratton also designed Stearns's personal home, theFrederick K. Stearns House, a few years later).[2] Construction was completed in 1899 at a cost of $85,000.[4] It originally contained Stearns's production facilities, as well as warehouses and white-collar offices.[3]
The building was converted into condominiums in 1989,[3] and is now known as theLofts at Rivertown.[5]
The building was originally three stories in height; a fourth floor was added later. The original building, with its upper story addition, is constructed from brick.[3] The façade is symmetric, with projecting pavilions at each end and another in the center;[3] this front section, which housed the company offices, is 13 bays wide and five bays deep.[5] The center pavilion contains an arched stone entryway and a clock on the third floor. Each window in the Jefferson façade is trimmed with limestone.[3] Fourth-floor gables above the end pavilions add to the appeal of the building.[3]
A taller concrete addition, the top of which can be seen from Jefferson,[3] was built around 1910.[6] This addition was designed byAlbert Kahn.[5]
