View source for Wayne State University Buildings

{{short description|Historic district in Michigan, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name                           = Wayne State University Buildings
| nrhp_type                      = hd
| nocat                          = yes
| image                          = Old Main WSU - Detroit Michigan.jpg
| caption                        = Old Main on WSU campus
| location                       = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| coordinates                    = {{coord|42|21|16|N|83|4|2|W|display=inline,title}}
| area                           =
| built                          = 1895
| architect                      = [[Malcomson and Higginbotham|Malcomson & Higginbotham]]; [[SmithGroupJJR|Field, Hinchman & Smith]]
| architecture                   = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]], [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne]]
| added                          = June 23, 1978
| refnum                         = 78001524<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
| designated_other1              = Michigan State Historic Site
| designated_other1_date         = January 19, 1957<ref name="state">{{cite web|title = Wayne State University Historic District |publisher = Michigan State Housing Development Authority|url = http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/16547.htm|access-date = September 2, 2010}}</ref>
| designated_other1_number       =
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
}}

The '''Wayne State University''' historic district consists of three buildings on 4735-4841 Cass Avenue in [[Midtown Detroit|Midtown]] [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]: the Mackenzie House (4735 Cass), [[Hilberry Theatre (Wayne State University)|Hilberry Theatre]] (4743 Cass), and [[Old Main (Wayne State University)|Old Main]] (4841 Cass), all on the campus of [[Wayne State University]].<ref name="wsumap">[http://www.campusmap.wayne.edu/ Campus map] from Wayne State University</ref> The buildings were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1957<ref name="state"/> and listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978.<ref name="nris"/>

==Mackenzie House==
[[Image:Mackenzie House WSU - Detroit Michigan.jpg|left|thumb|Mackenzie House (the Hilberry Theatre is to the right)]]
The '''Mackenzie House''' is a [[Queen Anne style architecture|Queen Anne]] house designed by [[Malcomson and Higginbotham]] and built in 1895. The original occupant was Detroit banker Frank Blackman. In 1906, [[David L. Mackenzie|David Mackenzie]], principal of Central High School and founder of the College of the City of Detroit,<ref name ="michmark">{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130128193843/http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=S0514.htm Mackenzie House]}} from Michigan Historical Markers</ref> moved into the house, where he lived until his death. His widow, Esther, continued living there until 1935. After Esther moved out, [[Wayne State University]] acquired the house, using it as the headquarters of the Women's Guild. It later provided office space for a number of other entities in the university.<ref name = "nom">{{citation | title = NATIONAL REGISTER OF IDSTORIC PLACES INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM: Wayne State University Buildings | author = Robert E. Miller | date = March 30, 1978 | url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25340978}}</ref>

In the mid-1970s, the Mackenzie House was slated for demolition, until a group of Wayne State students protested. Their successful effort created a new organization, Preservation Wayne. The building now serves as the offices of the organization, renamed Preservation Detroit.<ref name="pres">[http://preservationdetroit.org/about/13-2/ Preservation Detroit] history</ref> In 2018, plans were made to move the house to a new location within the same block to make room for the Hilberry Gateway Performance Project.<ref name ="mm">{{cite news | title = Historic Detroit home to be moved to make room for theatre complex | newspaper = Detroit News | author =  Dana Afana | date = March 27, 2018 | url = http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2018/03/wayne_state_board_approves_65m.html}}</ref> The house was moved in April 2019.<ref>{{cite news | title = Historic David Mackenzie House begins move to new Detroit location | newspaper = Detroit Free Press | date = April 1, 2019 | url = https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2019/04/01/wsu-david-mackenzie-house-midtown/3330460002/}}</ref>

The Mackenzie House is a two-and-a-half-story red brick structure with a prominent round tower with a conical turret on one corner of the facade. A large wooden porch wraps around the opposing corner and shelters the front entrance. The building has a slate hipped roof with gables.<ref name = "nom"/>
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==Hilberry Theatre==
[[Image:Hilberry Theatre WSU - Detroit Michigan.jpg|thumb|left|Hilberry Theatre]]
{{main|Hilberry Theatre (Wayne State University)}}
The '''Hilberry Theatre''' was  designed by the architectural firm of Field, Hinchman and Smith (predecessor of [[SmithGroupJJR|Smith, Hinchman and Grylls)]] and built in 1916-17 as the First Church of Christ Scientist.<ref name="det1701hil">[http://www.detroit1701.org/Hilberry%20Theater.html Hilberry Theater/First Church of Christ Scientist] from Detroit1701.org</ref> The auditorium was designed to seat more than 1,500 congregants.<ref name="det1701hil"/> The Christian Science congregation used the building until 1961, when they sold it to Wayne State University. Wayne State remodeled the interior to create a theatre to seat 532 people, serving as a repertory theater.<ref name="det1701hil"/> The building was re-christened in honor of Clarence B. Hilberry, the fourth president of WSU, and reopened in January 1964. The university continues to use the building to house its repertory theatre. In 2018, ground was broken on a major expansion project, the Hilberry Gateway Performance Complex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cfpca.wayne.edu/gateway|title=Gateway Performance Complex|date=January 18, 2024 }}</ref>

The Hilberry Theatre is a large rectangular two-story neoclassical building measuring 125 feet by 150 feet. The front facade is of a Roman temple design with six fluted ionic columns flanked by two half columns supporting an entablature. Behind the columns are seven recessed bays with alternating doors and windows on the first floor and windows above on the second. The two floors are separated by a belt course. The side facade facing Cass is of a similar form as the front facade.<ref name = "nom"/>
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==Old Main==
[[Image:Central High School historic - Detroit Michigan.jpg|thumb|left|Old Main, c. 1904]]
{{main|Old Main (Wayne State University)}}
'''Old Main''' was designed by [[Malcomson and Higginbotham]] and built between 1895 and 1896.<ref name="reuther">[http://www.reuther.wayne.edu/exhibits/oldmain.html "Partners in Education: Old Main and Wayne"], Patricia Bartkowski, from the Walter P. Reuther Library</ref> It originally housed Detroit's '''Central High School'''. The original building plan had 103 rooms arranged in a "T" shape with an auditorium that seated over 2,000 people. In 1908, a wing containing gymnasiums, laboratories and shops was added.<ref name="reuther"/>

The function of the building began to change in 1917, when Detroit Junior College opened its doors in the building. The enrollment in the college grew, crowding the building and the high school still housed there.<ref name="reuther"/> In 1923, the College of the City of Detroit (CCD) replaced the Detroit Junior College, crowding the building even more. Finally, in 1926, Central High School moved out of the building, leaving CCD as the primary occupant, along with a smaller College High School.<ref name="reuther"/> In 1928, the latter closed, leaving CCD as the sole tenant.<ref name="reuther"/> Five years later, [[Wayne State University]] was formed, uniting CCD with a College of Pharmacy, the Detroit Medical College, the Detroit Teachers' College, a law school, and a graduate school.<ref name = "nom"/> A large wing on Warren Avenue was added in 1937. The building continued to serve Wayne State, and in 1994 received major renovations and a new addition.<ref name="reuther"/>

Old Main was originally a T-shaped structure, but subsequent additions have enlarged the floor plan. The original building has a blue Bedford limestone base with [[Berea sandstone]] on the first floor. The upper three and one half stories are made of buff pressed brick. The main facade has a protruding square tower. The main entrance, located at the base of the tower, is through an elaborately carved Romanesque arch. The top of the tower includes a clock on each face.<ref name = "nom"/>
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==See also==
*[[University–Cultural Center Multiple Resource Area]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book | author=[[Eric J. Hill|Hill, Eric J.]] and John Gallagher | title=AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture | year=2002 | publisher=Wayne State University Press | isbn=0-8143-3120-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/aiadetroitameric0000hill }}
*{{Cite book | author=Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. | title=Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition | year=1980 | publisher=Wayne State University Press | isbn=0-8143-1651-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/detroitarchitect0000unse }}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Wayne State University Buildings Historic District}}

{{Wayne State University}}
{{Midtown Detroit}}
{{Architecture of metropolitan Detroit}}
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan|state=collapsed}}
{{Detroit}}
{{Metro Detroit Historic Homes}}

[[Category:Wayne State University|*]]
[[Category:Woodward Avenue]]
[[Category:Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Detroit]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan]]
[[Category:1895 establishments in Michigan]]