The Park Shelton is an historic condominium building located at 15 E. Kirby Avenue (on the corner of Kirby and Woodward Avenue) in Detroit, Michigan

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"....

. It was built in 1926 as a hotel, The Wardell, and the building was therefore listed under this name in 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 2007.

History

The Wardell was designed by Detroit architects Weston & Ellington and built by Bryant and Detwiler in 1926 as a residential hotel, intended for extended stays. Architectural sculpture

Architectural sculpture

Architectural sculpture is the term for the use of sculpture by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project...

 for the building was created by Corrado Parducci

Corrado Parducci

Corrado Giuseppe Parducci was an Italian-American architectural sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early 20th Century works.-Early life and education:...

. The name comes from Fred Wardell, who owned the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company. Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera

Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...

 lived there while working on his mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...

.

The Wardell was bought by Sheraton in the 1940s and became the Wardell-Sheraton, and later the Detroit-Sheraton. It was finally renamed The Park Shelton Hotel in the 1950s, offering luxurious accommodations, but set up as a more traditional hotel. It was the Detroit hotel of choice for such celebrities as Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

, George Burns

George Burns

George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...

, Gracie Allen

Gracie Allen

Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...

, and Raymond Burr

Raymond Burr

Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...

. In the 1970s, the Park Shelton Hotel was converted to apartments.

In the 2004, the Park Shelton was redeveloped into condominiums, creating 227 luxury units in the building. The newly refurbished building was opened in August 2004.The Park Shelton from ModelD

External links

• The Park Shelton