Architecture & design
Cass Gilbert
1859–1934 · architect
Architect of the Woolworth Building and U.S. Supreme Court who designed Detroit's Main Library on Woodward and the James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle.
- Born
Zanesville, Ohio- Died
Brockenhurst, England
aged 74- Detroit years
- 1910s–1925
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Gilbert was one of the leading American architects of the Beaux-Arts era, known for New York's Woolworth Building and the U.S. Supreme Court. In Detroit he won the commission for the new Main Library of the Detroit Public Library, facing what would become the Detroit Institute of Arts across Woodward Avenue. His Italian Renaissance design in white Vermont marble and Serpentine stone opened in 1921 and set the tone for the city's Cultural Center; its interiors feature murals and Pewabic tile. He also designed the James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle, a vast marble basin with tiered jets and sculpted figures, dedicated in 1925 and funded by the bequest of James Scott, a wealthy and unpopular local figure whose gift was debated for years. Both works remain among Detroit's best-loved public landmarks.
Highlights
- Detroit Public Library Main Library on Woodward Avenue (opened 1921)
- James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle (1925)
- Designed the Woolworth Building (1913) and U.S. Supreme Court Building
- President of the American Institute of Architects, 1908–1909
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1913–1921
Detroit Public Library — Main Library
His marble Renaissance-style library in the Cultural Center, opened in 1921 and later extended with wings by Cass Gilbert Jr. and Francis Keally.
Worked here · 1925
James Scott Memorial Fountain, Belle Isle
His monumental marble fountain at the western end of Belle Isle, facing downtown.