Industrial Building

skyscraper
neogothic
MI
Detroit

About the Industrial Building in Detroit
Architect and team
Architectureal style
Spaces and uses
Structure and materials

The Industrial Building is a Neogothic skyscraper designed by Louis Kamper and built between 1926 and 1928, for a reported $2.00 million dollars, in Detroit, MI.

Industrial Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The Industrial Building is also known, or has been known as, Industrial Apartments, Industrial Bank Building, Louis Kamper Building, or Park Palace Apartments.

Its precise street address is 1410 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, MI. You can also find it on the map here.

The building has been restored 2 times over the years to ensure its conservation and adaptation to the pass of time. The main restoration works happened in 1981 and 2019.

Building's timeline

Construction begins

1926

Construction completed

1928

Restoration

1981

Restoration

2019

years ago

2024

1981 - The building was converted into senior and low-income housing.
2018 to 2019 - Improvements to heating, cooling, electrical systems and apartments upgrades.

Architect and team

Louis Kamper was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

Architectural Style

The Industrial Building can be categorized as a Neogothic building.

The Neo-Gothic style, also known as Gothic Revival, emerged in the United States during the late 19th century, taking inspiration from the Gothic architecture found in Europe from centuries prior.

The Gothic Revival movement took elements characteristic of the Gothic buildings, such as pointed architect, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses, and applied them to newer buildings, even those belonging to typologies that did not exist during the original Gothic period, such as skyscrapers.

Neg-Gothic buildings usually feature pinnacles, gargoyles and other decorative elements that emphasize the verticality of the structure, and include stonework that features the craftsmanship of skilled artisans of the time.

The Industrial Building was completed in 1928. These were the late days of the Neogothic movement, which had been around for almost 200 years at the time.

Art-deco would soon take over US architecture, and therefore, even though Louis Kamper didn't venture into what was cutting edge in terms of style at the time, and took instead a more conservative approach to the design of the Industrial Building, it is possible that the design already started showing some traits that would later become characteristic of the art-deco movement.

Spaces & Uses

The Industrial Building reaches an architectural height of 240ft (73m), with the last accesible floor being 230ft (70m) off the gorund. It has a total of 22 floors, 21 above ground and 1 basements.

When it opened its doors to the public in 1928, the Industrial Building was primarily used as Commercial space. That however, is no longer the case, and today it mainly provides Residential space.

About the residences

The Industrial Building has a total of 127 residential units throughout its 21 floors.

Materials & Structure

The Industrial Building uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade is non-load bearing either, as it is common in frame structure type buildings.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features ornaments in the spandrels of the windows up to the fifth floor, and a striking limestone crown design adorning the top of the building.