Fisher Building
Financed with the proceeds from selling Fisher Body to General Motors, the Fisher family’s 30-story Art Deco tower on West Grand Boulevard is among the most ornate commercial buildings in the Midwest — its hipped roof originally sheathed in gold leaf.
At a glance
The Fisher Building stands at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit’s New Center area, an ornate 30-story office tower completed in 1928 and faced with limestone, granite, and several types of marble. Designed in the Art Deco style by Albert Kahn Associates — with Joseph Nathaniel French as chief architect — the building was the primary monument of the Fisher family’s ambitions after their sale of Fisher Body Company to General Motors. It contains the elaborate 2,089-seat Fisher Theatre and has been designated a National Historic Landmark since 1989.
Key facts
- Completed: 1928
- Architect: Albert Kahn Associates (Joseph Nathaniel French, chief architect)
- Style: Art Deco
- Address: 3011 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit
- National Historic Landmark: June 29, 1989
- Theatre: Fisher Theatre — 2,089 seats
- Exterior: Limestone, granite, and marble; hipped roof (originally gold leaf, now green tiles)
History
The seven Fisher brothers — Fred, Charles, William, Alfred, Edward, Lawrence, and Howard — founded Fisher Body in 1908 and built it into the dominant supplier of automobile bodies in the United States. When they sold to General Motors in the mid-1920s, the proceeds gave them the resources to build something permanent. The building at West Grand Boulevard was intended as the centerpiece of a three-building complex, with a 60-story central tower flanking two 30-story structures. The Great Depression intervened before the larger complex could be realized, and the single tower that was completed became the permanent memorial to the family’s ambitions.
The building’s hipped roof was originally sheathed in gold leaf tiles — a lavish gesture consistent with the commission’s scale and the era’s confidence in Detroit’s industrial future. During World War II, the tiles were covered with asphalt out of concern that the reflective surface would attract enemy aircraft. After the war, the asphalt could not be removed without destroying the tiles beneath, so they were replaced with green tiles. Since the 1980s, colored lights have illuminated the roof at night to restore the gold appearance; on St. Patrick’s Day, the lights turn green.
The Fisher Theatre within the building has hosted Broadway touring productions for decades, making the Fisher Building a center of Detroit’s cultural life as well as its commercial history. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989 — on the same date as the nearby Guardian Building — as part of a recognition of Detroit’s exceptional concentration of early twentieth-century Art Deco architecture.
What you see
The Fisher Building’s exterior is organized by the classical proportions that Albert Kahn’s office brought to commercial commissions throughout Detroit. The lower stories are faced with limestone and granite; marble appears at the base and in the principal lobby surfaces. The building’s mass tapers through upper-floor setbacks toward the hipped roof, which at night glows gold under the colored lighting that has replaced the original gilded tiles.
The arcade and street-level retail spaces running through the building reflect the New Center area’s ambitions as a civic and commercial district distinct from downtown. The Fisher Theatre’s entry and auditorium maintain much of their original Art Deco decoration — a program of carved stone, painted surfaces, and gilded detail that ranks among the best-preserved theatrical interiors in the Midwest. The building’s lobby, faced in the same palette of marble and stone used throughout, opens onto the grand interior street that runs the length of the ground floor.
Practical information
- Status: Active commercial building; lobby and arcade accessible during business hours
- Fisher Theatre: Hosts touring Broadway productions and other performances year-round
- Photography: Exterior unrestricted; lobby and theatre by arrangement
- Nearest transit: QLine streetcar on Woodward Avenue (New Center stop), approximately two blocks east
- Time needed: 30 minutes for exterior and lobby; add 2–3 hours for a Fisher Theatre performance
Getting there
The Fisher Building is at 3011 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood, approximately 3 miles north of downtown. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is approximately 23 miles southwest. The QLine streetcar on Woodward Avenue serves the New Center area; the New Center stop is two blocks east. GPS: 42.36931°N, 83.07694°W.
Nearby
- New Center One (1936) — Art Deco office building across West Grand Boulevard
- Guardian Building (1929) — fellow Art Deco National Historic Landmark in downtown Detroit, 3 miles south
- Detroit Institute of Arts — major encyclopedic museum, 1 mile south on Woodward
- General Motors Global Headquarters (Renaissance Center, 1977) — GM’s Detroit base, on the riverfront
Sources
- Wikipedia: Fisher Building
- National Park Service, National Historic Landmark: June 29, 1989
- Hill, Eric J., and John Gallagher. AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press, 2002
- Detroit Historical Society — Fisher Building documentation
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