David Whitney Building

01 / The story of this place

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Lumber baron David Whitney Jr. made a fortune supplying wood to a rapidly growing Detroit, and after his death in 1900 his family had this 19-story Neo-Renaissance tower built in his honor at the edge of Grand Circus Park, designed by the Chicago firm Graham, Burnham & Co. and completed in 1915. One of only three Detroit buildings by the celebrated Burnham firm, it stood as an office landmark for decades before falling dark and empty as downtown Detroit hollowed out in the late twentieth century. A ninety-two million dollar renovation between 2013 and 2014 brought the tower back to life as a boutique Aloft hotel with apartments above, its facade lit for the first time in years at a December 2014 reopening. In 2024 the hotel was rebranded as the Hotel David Whitney under Marriott's Autograph Collection, and the building today mixes hotel rooms with residential apartments on its upper floors.

1. Completed in 1915 for lumber baron David Whitney Jr.
2. One of only three Detroit buildings by architects Graham, Burnham & Co.
3. Sat vacant for years before a $92 million renovation, 2013–2014
4. Reopened as an Aloft hotel with apartments in December 2014
5. Rebranded Hotel David Whitney in Marriott's Autograph Collection in 2024