El Tovar Apartments

The El Tovar Apartments is an apartment building located at 320 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan, in the East Grand Boulevard Historic District. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[1]

El Tovar Apartments
Location320 East Grand Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°21′12″N 83°0′20″W
Built1928
Built byJacob P. and Walter F. Sumeracki
ArchitectRobert J. West
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Art Deco
Part ofEast Grand Boulevard Historic District (ID99001468)
NRHP reference No.91000214[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 28, 1991
Designated CPNovember 30, 1999

Architecture

Often attributed to the firm of Wiedmaier & Gay, the December 6, 1928, edition of the Detroit Free Press lists Robert J. West as the architect of the building. The El Tovar Apartment building is an excellent example of Spanish Moorish/Art Deco style.[2] The El Tovar Apartments is a 4-and-a-half-story building, containing 73 apartments,[3] constructed from orange brick with limestone trim, orange terra cotta accents, and a Spanish tile roof.[2] The entrance is within the center pavilion, reached by a sidewalk flanked by carved lion figures.[4] The name El Tovar is carved on a scroll above the entrance.[2][4] Minaret-like towers project from the gabled roof, and there are arched openings at the corners of the front façade, chimney stack-like projections, pseudo-flying buttresses, and stylized crenellations.[4]

Significance

Built in 1928, the apartment building represents a significant change in Detroit from low density to higher density housing.[2] In 1988, the Messiah Housing Corporation purchased the building; they rehabilitated the apartments and opened them for Section 8 housing in 1992.[3] Messiah Housing also owns the nearby Saint Paul Manor Apartments and Kingston Arms Apartments.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. El Tovar Apartments Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine from the city of Detroit
  3. El Tovar Apartments, Church of the Messiah Housing Corporation
  4. El Tovar Apartments Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine from the state of Michigan
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.