New Amsterdam Historic District
Encyclopedia
The New Amsterdam Historic District is a historic district located in Detroit, Michigan
. Buildings in this district are on or near three sequential east-west streets (Amsterdam, Burroughs, and York) on the two blocks between Woodward Avenue and Second Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2001.
and the City of Detroit as a historic district in 2001. Specific buildings in the general area are included in the designation; these buildings are located at 435 and 450 Amsterdam Street, 41-47, and 440 Burroughs Street, 5911-5919 and 6050-6160 Cass Avenue, 6100-6200 Second Avenue, and 425 York Street. In addition, the city designation includes 6001 Cass Avenue.
Major railroad infrastructure, known as the Milwaukee Junction
, was built in the 1890s to facilitate industrial expansion in the city of Detroit. To take advantage of the rail line, industrial plants were built in this area on both sides of Woodward Avenue, with the automotive industry prominently involved. Part of this area east of Woodward is now the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District
, while the area west of Woodward and south of the railroad tracks is the New Amsterdam Historic District. Some commercial buildings were also built in this area, particularly along Cass.
Although not part of the New Amsterdam Historic District, part of the early industrial character of the area was formed by the enormous Albert Kahn-designed Burroughs Typewriter factory at Second and Burroughs, which is now the Henry Ford Health Systems administrative offices.
This building is currently being renovated for parking and retail.
The Cadillac Assembly Plant was designed by George D. Mason
in 1905 for the Cadillac Motor Car Company
. The plant was constructed in only 67 days after a fire damaged the original buildings on the site.
Cadillac moved their production to the Clark Street plant in Southwest Detroit in 1920, after which Wescott Paper and other tenants leased the building. Wescott still resides in the building.
Like theAlbert-Kahn-designed Packard Motor Company Building #10, the use of reinforced concrete in this building is considered to be a pioneer application in industrial buildings.
The Graphic Arts Building was designed and built in 1926 by Murphy and Burns. It features a striking terra cotta exterior. The original tenants were graphic art professionals, including a commercial engraver, a photographer, and art studios.
Jonna Construction has purchased this property and has redeveloped the building into lofts. The redevelopment, known as the "Lofts at New Amsterdam Phase I," consists of 39 units; as of 2007, the building was 48% occupied. The second phase of the development is in the Caille Brothers building at 6200 Second.
This Pontiac service dealership was designed in 1927 by Albert Kahn. The owner, George A. Richards, also owned WJR
and the Detroit Lions
.
Beginning in the late 1920s, the Jerry McCarthy Chevrolet Company operated a dealership and service center out of this building. Concurrently, the Chevrolet Chart and Display Department (which would later become Chevrolet Creative Services and occupy the entire building until 1996) ran its operation out of a small corner of the structure at 440 Burroughs Street.
The building is currently TechOne, the first phase of the Techtown research incubator. As of late 2007, the building had 34 tenants.
C. F. Carney and Joseph Labadie formed the Carney-Labadie Company in 1910 to distribute Exide batteries and Firestone tires. The company purchased the McGraw estate on Cass in 1922 to build a headquarters.
The building is now the John King Big Bookstore.
The six-story Cadillac Sales and Service Building was designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1927; it originally contained offices and a showroom. In the 1970s, it was converted into classrooms for Wayne State University
's Criminal Justice program. The building is currently scheduled to be converted into a research incubator, as the second phase of the TechTown project.
The Stewart- Warner Speedometer Corporation Building was built in 1925 as the Detroit home of the Stewart-Warner
Speedometer Corporation. It was later used as a wheel and brake service center, and the Burroughs Corporation credit union. Wayne State University
has used this building to house their parking and mail departments.
In 2008, Wayne State began refurbishing the building for use by the Department of Public Safety. The building opened in June 2008.
The American Beauty Iron Building is scheduled for demolition, in order to construct the third phase of TechTown.
The Walter J. Bemb Buick-Pontiac Dealership was designed in 1927 by Albert Kahn. Walter J. Bemb was a Detroit automotive pioneer who began his career in Detroit's first automobile dealership woking for William E. Metzger
. He worked for both Ford Motor Company
and Hudson Motor Company until striking out on his own in 1912 with the Bemb-Robinson Company, selling Hudson and later Essex
automobiles. He later became associated with General Motors.
In 1972, Dalgleish Cadillac, a dealership which has been in business since 1922, purchased the building. As of 2008, the building is their main showroom.
The Engine 17 and Ladder 7 companies were originally organized on on June 17, 1893, at the corner of Cass and Amsterdam. In 1921, the original firehouse was sold, and in late 1922 the companies moved into a new firehouse at the corner of Second and Burroughs. The fire station has been in continuous service since.
The Amsterdam Substation was built in 1929 for Detroit Edison, and is still in use today.
The Detroit Edison Substation at 6134 Second Avenue was built c. 1910 by the Detroit Edison Company. The building eventually fell into disuse, and in 2001, the Detroit Public Schools
bought the building and paid three million dollars to renovate it. After renovation, the schools moved the Detroit Children's Museum from its Midtown location to the site.
The Caille Brothers Building was built in several stages between 1900 and 1930.
The Caille Brothers Company began manufacturing in Detroit in 1895, when A. Arthur Caille, inventor of the penny slot machine, moved his business to Detroit from Saginaw. Caille ran the company along with his brother Adolf. The brothers built the company to become one of the largest penny slot makers in the world, employing over 400 people in 1912. Later they expanded their product line to include other items such as marine motors, scales, and the conveyor belts used in grocery stores.
The building was later known as the Century Floral Building.
Jonna Construction purchased this property and redeveloped the building into lofts. The property plan, known as the "Lofts at New Amsterdam, Phase II," calls for 62 loft units in the building. Phase I of the development, now completed, was in the Graphic Arts Building at 41-47 Burroughs.
This building on the corner of Cass Avenue and York Street has been demolished by Wayne State University
. A surface parking lot has replaced it.
district.
Thirkell Elementary School, Golightly K-8 and Hutchins Middle School, and Northwestern High School
serve New Amsterdam.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Buildings in this district are on or near three sequential east-west streets (Amsterdam, Burroughs, and York) on the two blocks between Woodward Avenue and Second Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2001.
District definition
The New Amsterdam Historic District was recognized by both the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and the City of Detroit as a historic district in 2001. Specific buildings in the general area are included in the designation; these buildings are located at 435 and 450 Amsterdam Street, 41-47, and 440 Burroughs Street, 5911-5919 and 6050-6160 Cass Avenue, 6100-6200 Second Avenue, and 425 York Street. In addition, the city designation includes 6001 Cass Avenue.
General history
Milwaukee Junction
Milwaukee Junction is an area in Detroit, Michigan with significant history related to the automobile industry. Located near the railroad junction of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad lines, the area encompassed the streets of E Grand Boulevard and Clay St....
, was built in the 1890s to facilitate industrial expansion in the city of Detroit. To take advantage of the rail line, industrial plants were built in this area on both sides of Woodward Avenue, with the automotive industry prominently involved. Part of this area east of Woodward is now the Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District
Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District
The Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District is a historic district located along Piquette Street in Detroit, Michigan, from Woodward Avenue on the west to Hastings Street on the east. The district extends approximately one block south of Piquette to Harper, and one block north to the Grand...
, while the area west of Woodward and south of the railroad tracks is the New Amsterdam Historic District. Some commercial buildings were also built in this area, particularly along Cass.
Although not part of the New Amsterdam Historic District, part of the early industrial character of the area was formed by the enormous Albert Kahn-designed Burroughs Typewriter factory at Second and Burroughs, which is now the Henry Ford Health Systems administrative offices.
Unknown (435 Amsterdam Street)
Cadillac Assembly Plant (450 Amsterdam Street)
George D. Mason
George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.Mason was born in Syracuse, New York , the son of James H. and Zelda E. Mason...
in 1905 for the Cadillac Motor Car Company
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
. The plant was constructed in only 67 days after a fire damaged the original buildings on the site.
Cadillac moved their production to the Clark Street plant in Southwest Detroit in 1920, after which Wescott Paper and other tenants leased the building. Wescott still resides in the building.
Like theAlbert-Kahn-designed Packard Motor Company Building #10, the use of reinforced concrete in this building is considered to be a pioneer application in industrial buildings.
Graphic Arts Building (41-47 Burroughs Street)
Jonna Construction has purchased this property and has redeveloped the building into lofts. The redevelopment, known as the "Lofts at New Amsterdam Phase I," consists of 39 units; as of 2007, the building was 48% occupied. The second phase of the development is in the Caille Brothers building at 6200 Second.
G. A. Richards Oakland Company Service Department for Oaklands and Pontiacs (440 Burroughs Street)
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
and the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
.
Beginning in the late 1920s, the Jerry McCarthy Chevrolet Company operated a dealership and service center out of this building. Concurrently, the Chevrolet Chart and Display Department (which would later become Chevrolet Creative Services and occupy the entire building until 1996) ran its operation out of a small corner of the structure at 440 Burroughs Street.
The building is currently TechOne, the first phase of the Techtown research incubator. As of late 2007, the building had 34 tenants.
Carney-Labadie Building (5911-5919 Cass Avenue)
The building is now the John King Big Bookstore.
Cadillac Sales & Service (6001 Cass)
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
's Criminal Justice program. The building is currently scheduled to be converted into a research incubator, as the second phase of the TechTown project.
Stewart-Warner Speedometer Corporation Building (6050 Cass Avenue)
Stewart-Warner
Stewart-Warner is a US manufacturer of vehicle instruments, a.k.a. gauges. The company was founded as Stewart & Clark Company in 1905 by John K. Stewart. Their speedometers were used in the Ford Model T. In 1912 John Stewart joined with Edgar Bassick to make vehicle instruments and horns...
Speedometer Corporation. It was later used as a wheel and brake service center, and the Burroughs Corporation credit union. Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
has used this building to house their parking and mail departments.
In 2008, Wayne State began refurbishing the building for use by the Department of Public Safety. The building opened in June 2008.
American Beauty Irons (American Electrical Heater Building) (6110 Cass)
Walter J. Bemb Buick-Pontiac Dealership (6160 Cass Avenue)
William E. Metzger
William Ernest Metzger was an automotive pioneer and salesman from Detroit. He opened one of the first automobile dealerships in the United States, and participated in the early development of a number of early automobile companies, including the Cadillac Automobile Company and the E-M-F Company,...
. He worked for both Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Hudson Motor Company until striking out on his own in 1912 with the Bemb-Robinson Company, selling Hudson and later Essex
Essex (automobile)
The Essex was a brand of automobile produced by the Essex Motor Company from 1918–1922 and Hudson Motor Company of Detroit, Michigan between 1922 and 1932.-Corporate strategy:...
automobiles. He later became associated with General Motors.
In 1972, Dalgleish Cadillac, a dealership which has been in business since 1922, purchased the building. As of 2008, the building is their main showroom.
Engine Co. 17/Ladder Co. 7 (6100 Second Avenue)
Detroit Edison Amsterdam Substation (6126 Second Avenue)
Detroit Edison Substation (6134 Second Avenue)
Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...
bought the building and paid three million dollars to renovate it. After renovation, the schools moved the Detroit Children's Museum from its Midtown location to the site.
Caille Brothers Building (6200 Second Avenue)
The Caille Brothers Company began manufacturing in Detroit in 1895, when A. Arthur Caille, inventor of the penny slot machine, moved his business to Detroit from Saginaw. Caille ran the company along with his brother Adolf. The brothers built the company to become one of the largest penny slot makers in the world, employing over 400 people in 1912. Later they expanded their product line to include other items such as marine motors, scales, and the conveyor belts used in grocery stores.
The building was later known as the Century Floral Building.
Jonna Construction purchased this property and redeveloped the building into lofts. The property plan, known as the "Lofts at New Amsterdam, Phase II," calls for 62 loft units in the building. Phase I of the development, now completed, was in the Graphic Arts Building at 41-47 Burroughs.
425 York Street
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
. A surface parking lot has replaced it.
Education
New Center is within the Detroit Public SchoolsDetroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...
district.
Thirkell Elementary School, Golightly K-8 and Hutchins Middle School, and Northwestern High School
Northwestern High School (Michigan)
Northwestern High School is a secondary education facility in Detroit, Michigan. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student population of approximately 2,000. Northwestern High School features numerous extracurricular activities; including: Debate, US Army JROTC,...
serve New Amsterdam.
External links
- Jonna Companies, Lofts at New Amsterdam
- TechTown
- Detroit Children's Museum