Architecture & design
Wirt C. Rowland
1878–1946 · architect
Architect behind Detroit's golden-age skyscrapers, including the Guardian, Penobscot and Buhl buildings on Griswold Street.
- Born
Clinton, Michigan- Died
Grand Rapids, Michigan
aged 67- Birth name
- Wirt Clinton Rowland
- Also known as
- Wirt Rowland
- Detroit years
- 1901–1940s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Rowland grew up in small-town Clinton, Michigan, and came to Detroit in 1901 as an office boy at Rogers & MacFarlane before moving to George D. Mason's firm. After studying at Harvard he worked for Malcomson & Higginbotham, designing several Detroit high schools, and for Albert Kahn, where he had a large hand in the University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium, the Detroit News Building and the General Motors Building. In 1922 he became chief designer at Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, and over the next decade he gave downtown Detroit many of its finest towers: the cruciform Buhl Building (1925), the soaring Penobscot Building (1928) and the Guardian Building (1929), whose orange brick, Pewabic and Rookwood tile, Ezra Winter mosaics and Corrado Parducci sculpture earned it the nickname Cathedral of Finance. The Depression ended the skyscraper boom, and his later work was smaller, including the Parkside housing project. He died in 1946.
Highlights
- Guardian Building (1929), a National Historic Landmark
- Penobscot Building (1928), once Detroit's tallest
- Buhl Building (1925) on Griswold Street
- Worked on Hill Auditorium and the Detroit News Building in Albert Kahn's office
- Chief designer at Smith, Hinchman & Grylls from 1922
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
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 · 1928–1929
Guardian Building
His Art Deco masterpiece, built as the Union Trust Building; its lobby is open to visitors.
Worked here · 1927–1928
Penobscot Building
His 47-story setback tower, Detroit's tallest building until 1977.
Worked here · 1925
The Buhl Bar
Cross-shaped office tower with Romanesque and Art Deco detail.