  Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 610 Registered: 03-2006 |
According to its Wikipedia article, the Lafayette building is "awaiting it's developer to start renovations. If the buildings renovations do not start by the fall of 2007 then the building will be demolished and plans for a new more modern,glassy building will be rendered." is there any validity to that statement? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L afayette_Building | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 1893 Registered: 10-2003 |
I don't know, but Kraemer Design Group is listed as an architect for some reason. Perhaps they know. | ||
Rocket_city Member Username: Rocket_city Post Number: 361 Registered: 04-2006 |
I don't have credible information other than that I believe through the effort of designating all of downtown as an historic site (circa. Super Bowl era) that the building should be protected from demolition. Not that that's stopped the misguided before. | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 2137 Registered: 11-2004 |
Wikipedia is notoriously accurate, so let's go give that building a hug before she's just a memory! | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 73 Registered: 08-2007 |
LOL, Dialh. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 9851 Registered: 10-2003 |
I just went and rubbed against it in a very sexual nature. That's gotta be better than a hug. | ||
Oakmangirl Member Username: Oakmangirl Post Number: 74 Registered: 08-2007 |
Teabagging doesn't help at all. No, seriously, I hope it doesn't become another train station situation. (Message edited by Oakmangirl on August 17, 2007) | ||
Treble484 Member Username: Treble484 Post Number: 26 Registered: 02-2006 |
Sad, Sad indeed. Why can they preserve thousand year old buildings everywhere around the world, except here in the "D"? | ||
Royce Member Username: Royce Post Number: 2354 Registered: 07-2004 |
It would appear to me that the Griswold development ended any hopes for the Lafayette. Didn't they(the city and those developing the Griswold) know that if you're going to build brand new condos above the garage that was going to be used by the Lafayette tenants then redeveloping the Lafayette would be pointless. So, therefore, I'm going to move into an old building with no attached parking instead of a spanking brand new building with attached parking, right. | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 2138 Registered: 11-2004 |
LOL | ||
Deandub11 Member Username: Deandub11 Post Number: 141 Registered: 05-2006 |
Is the Lafayette really that great architectually? | ||
Xd_brklyn Member Username: Xd_brklyn Post Number: 284 Registered: 10-2003 |
First of all, you don't get architecture like the Lafayette building anymore. Second, the fact you cannot get architecture like that anymore gives Detroit a unique stamp these current up and coming cities cannot match. In non-architecture terms, they are like hockey's original six, the landed gentry of the modern metropolis. | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 518 Registered: 11-2005 |
I have always thought once the book cad and other development in the area open it would be great for rental lofts with a grocer on the first two floors. Any building Designed by C. Howard Crane is worth preserving, and it is also a great example of predepression building. I definitely am a preservationist and do not feel that the culture of demolition is what is going to rejuvenate the city. If it concentrated more on preservation efforts I believe the city would be in much better shape. (Message edited by Urbanoutdoors on August 17, 2007) | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 1358 Registered: 04-2006 |
The Lafayette Building was one of the few downtown that has a Shopping Arcade Lobby. | ||
Davetroit Member Username: Davetroit Post Number: 15 Registered: 03-2007 |
View from the top  | ||
Hornwrecker Member Username: Hornwrecker Post Number: 1878 Registered: 04-2005 |
Hard finding a decent photo of this building. Here's one from the WSU/VMC taken from the roof of the Fort Shelby hotel.  | ||
Urbanoutdoors Member Username: Urbanoutdoors Post Number: 522 Registered: 11-2005 |
"Is the Lafayette really that great architectually?" Do you see the picture above, It truly could be that beautiful once again all it would take is an investor with the vision of many of the Dyesers. | ||
Blueidone Member Username: Blueidone Post Number: 129 Registered: 03-2007 |
I worked in that building for six years. I loved going there every day just for the uniqueness of it. I would see G. Mennen (Soapy) Williams there every now and then. There has got to be a way to save it! | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 357 Registered: 04-2004 |
Don't let a wikipedia article bother you. I could just easily log on right now and delete that line if I wanted, and make things all better. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 3608 Registered: 02-2005 |
Xd_Brklyn, well said. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 864 Registered: 11-2005 |
I just went and rubbed against it in a very sexual nature. That's gotta be better than a hug. Duuuuuude. I seriously hope you burned your clothes afterward. On another notes, can you imagine how much weight you'd gain if you lived next door to Lafayette Coney? My gawd. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 1457 Registered: 10-2006 |
"If the buildings renovations do not start by the fall of 2007 then the building will be demolished and plans for a new more modern,glassy building will be rendered." It doesn't say this anywhere in the link anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L afayette_Building Thanks Wolverine for making us all feel better. | ||
Kslice Member Username: Kslice Post Number: 143 Registered: 04-2007 |
I was just about to say that! Who scrubbed the last part of the sentence??? Just proves how fast "facts" can change.  The rest of the info seems accurate as it's also on other sites. http://www.modeldmedia.com/dev elopmentnews/lafayette.aspx | ||
Jasoncw Member Username: Jasoncw Post Number: 431 Registered: 07-2005 |
Yeah, so just so everyone is straight, wikipedia is not a place to verify speculation (or anything for that matter). | ||
Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 612 Registered: 03-2006 |
no one is trying to verify speculation via Wikipedia...it fueled the speculation providing the basis of this discussion. I am merely questioning or probing that foundation | ||
Jasoncw Member Username: Jasoncw Post Number: 434 Registered: 07-2005 |
I know you're not. You just saw it and were wondering about it. It just seems like recently (not from this site, but in general) people have been trying to use wikipedia as a source to back them up on things, or saw something on wikipedia and was 100% sure that it was true. | ||
Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 613 Registered: 03-2006 |
well not to divert the focus of the thread, wikipedia is a great base resource. By which I mean that if I am ever looking for information, Wikipedia is the first place I go because of its broad and relatively accurate scope. From there I gain rudimentary knowledge and other resources which Wikipedia cites. A double blind study comparing Wikipedia to Britannica on science articles, in which professors were given each source's article on a topic (they didn't know which was which), concluded that Wikipedia was on average slightly more accurate (Message edited by apbest on August 18, 2007) | ||
Jasoncw Member Username: Jasoncw Post Number: 435 Registered: 07-2005 |
Yeah, I use wikipedia all the time, it's really useful. And I don't doubt it's accuracy for big topics. But for smaller pages that don't get a lot of traffic, I don't trust it very much. For example, just now there was a tidbit that wasn't accurate in the Lafayette Building article. | ||
Humanmachinery Member Username: Humanmachinery Post Number: 28 Registered: 07-2006 |
It's all a matter of infinite procrastination at this point. The Lafayette Building was originally supposed to be renovated or demolished before the Superbowl. I'd really love to see someone save it, but at this point? Good luck. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 5134 Registered: 08-2004 |
Ah.... yes Wikipedia.... let's just call it semi-accurate, and leave it at that. Last update I made to Wikipedia was for the Chicago Theatre, which listed 5,000 seats (similar in size to our Detroit Fox). Well I corrected it to the accurate 3,800 seats (smaller than the its' Rapp & Rapp sibling, the Michigan). The Lafayette Building was designed, interestingly enough, by C. Howard Crane, Detroit's own great theatre architect, who designed the Fox, State, Capitol, U/A, Madison, Adams, Majestic, Orchestra Hall and the old Olympia Hockey arena. I doubt that the building will be torn down anytime soon. Its' major problem for developers is that it lacks dedicated parking. |
