Michigan Central Station Book Depository
The former Detroit Public Schools Book Depository is attached to Ford’s Michigan Central Station project. Check out the rest of the space. The Albert Kahn-designed building features massive floor plates with mushroom columns and tall ceilings. A roof level is currently partially open to the elements, but also features long galleries of clerestory windows. The building was owned by the elder Moroun for many years. Scroll down to check out the two Matterport spaces of the Book Depository!
Underground
The Book Depository is connected to Michigan Central Station by way of an underground tunnel. It doesn’t actually go into the train station, but ends rather near the underground concourse. The floor plates remain relatively consistent the whole way up.
Vintage tile in the eastern stairwell. I will be sad to see it go.
Top Floor
The top floor will make for brilliantly-illumed space once completed. It is currently partially open to the elements, and you can see evidence of substantial deterioration of the surface levels of concrete. Albert Kahn did, bless his heart, build these buildings to last, though, and steel and reinforced concrete takes more than a few freeze-thaw cycles to fall apart! This photo is taken looking roughly north, so, you can imagine the afternoon sunlight that’ll come through the windows at the right of this photo when they’re restored.
The roof of the Book Depository building, attached to Michigan Central Station.
Read more about infrastructure and transportation from The Handbuilt City. Check out the other Matterport tours of Ford’s project, the Historic Detroit page, or check out Ford’s page on the project.