1924. A year of flappers, jazz, and in Detroit, the rise of the magnificent Park Avenue Hotel. Originally called the Royal Palm Hotel, this thirteen-story Italian Renaissance masterpiece was designed by the renowned Louis Kamper, the same architect who shaped Detroit’s skyline with the Book-Cadillac and other grand hotels. Park Avenue Hotel was part of a trio of hotels commissioned by Lew Tuller, a Detroit businessman who envisioned Park Avenue as a rival to New York’s Fifth Avenue. The hotel, located at 2305 Park Avenue, boasted 180 rooms with private baths, a bustling restaurant, and five retail spaces on the ground floor. Tuller dreamt big, but unfortunately, his finances didn’t quite match his ambition. By 1928, he lost all three Park Avenue hotels, including the Park Avenue Hotel, to foreclosure. David P. Katz acquired the Royal Palm, later to become the Park Avenue Hotel again, holding onto it until his own business empire crumbled in 1966. The hotel, a testament to Detroit’s boom years, had a fascinating journey through the decades. It was eventually purchased by Wilbur Harrington in 1967 and renamed Park Avenue House, transitioning from a hotel to residential apartments. The building’s exterior, with its orange brick and limestone facade, still hints at its glamorous past. Look closely and you’ll see the unique “packeted” bay windows, a distinctive Kamper touch. Inside, remnants of the grand lobby remain, with its oak paneling and whispers of marble walls and iron grates. Though the Park Avenue Hotel, as it was known in its later years at a different location, was demolished in 2015, this building, its original namesake, stands as a reminder of a vibrant era in Detroit’s history. It embodies the dreams of a city on the rise, the architectural genius of Louis Kamper, and the enduring spirit of a building that has seen it all.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to