Politics / Business & brands
William Barlum Thompson
1860–1941 · meat merchant, city treasurer, mayor of Detroit, developer
Detroit-born meat merchant and longtime city treasurer who was twice mayor (1907–1908 and 1911–1912) and later co-developed the Barlum Tower on Cadillac Square.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 80- Detroit years
- 1860–1941
- Field
- Politics, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
William Barlum Thompson was born in Detroit in 1860 to an Irish-Catholic family, went through the city's public schools and Goldsmith's Business University, and entered the meat-market business with his uncle Thomas Barlum, becoming his partner in 1880 before opening his own shop in 1882. A Democrat, he was elected alderman in 1891, stepped down, and was drafted back by popular demand in 1896. In 1897 he became city treasurer, a post he held for nine years, which built the name recognition that carried him to the mayor's office for 1907–1908 and again for 1911–1912, years when the auto boom was transforming the city. With his cousin John J. Barlum he then formed the Cadillac Square Improvement Company, which put up the Barlum Tower (now Cadillac Tower), the Barlum Hotel and the Lawyers Building around Cadillac Square in the 1920s. He and his wife Nellie had nine children. He died in Detroit in 1941.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit, 1907–1908 and 1911–1912
- Detroit city treasurer, 1897–1906
- Co-developer of the Barlum (Cadillac) Tower on Cadillac Square
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
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.
Related place · 1927–
Cadillac Tower (former Barlum Tower)
Neo-Gothic office tower on Cadillac Square built by his and his cousin's Cadillac Square Improvement Company as the Barlum Tower.