Elevator Building (Detroit, Michigan)

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Designed by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls for steel bathtub maker Pressed Steel Sanitary Manufacturing Company, the 19,583 sq. ft. building was constructed in 1907. Possessing some of the largest deep drawing presses available at the time, the building attracted the attention of car manufacturer E-M-F which purchased the property in 1910. Known as Plant #5 after E-M-F was acquired by Studebaker, the stamping plant produced one piece fenders. It was the site of one of the first strikes by workers against an automobile company in 1913 staged with the help of the I.W.W. Unable to expand, Studebaker relocated fender production elsewhere and sold the property in 1916.

In 1917, the plant was leased by Hudson Motor Car Company where it developed its new low cost 4 cylinder car, the Essex. Production was transfered to the Hudson Jefferson Avenue factory shortly thereafter and after a short-lived lease to the Commercial Motor Body Corp.the property, in 1921, came into the possession of the F. Joseph Lamb Co. which manufactured an electric starter device for automobiles. From 1948 until 1998 the building was home to the Detroit Elevator Company from which it gets its present name.

In 1999, Mayor Dennis Archer decided that the three casinos authorized by the state to be built in Detroit should be located in Rivertown. Detroit City Council commenced condemnation proceedings to acquire a 110 acre parcel of land south of East Jefferson Avenue west of Chene Park. By the time the plan was cancelled in 2002, properties were vacant and the area had declined significantly. In 2007 RDR Real Estate purchased the building with plans to convert it into residential lofts. Following the economic downturn the building,was converted into office lofts.It now houses 18 studio offices ranging from 600 to 2,500 sq. ft.