Washington Boulevard Historic District is a multi-block area of downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is bounded by Washington Boulevard between State and Clifford streets. In 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It includes the Book-Cadillac Hotel, the Book Tower, the Industrial-Stevens Apartments, and Washington Square (Trolley Plaza) among other architecturally significant buildings. The Detroit Statler Hotel was located on the boulevard until it was demolished in 2005. Washington Boulevard was one of the large boulevards in Augustus Woodward's plan of 1807. The street was broadened and ornamented in the early part of the twentieth century. The development was inspired by the City Beautiful movement and financed by J. Burgess Book Jr. and designed by Louis Kamper. It was to resemble New York's Fifth Avenue and European boulevards. A sculpture lined park between two one-way streets decorated a shopping district and upscale residential neighborhood. Edward H. Bennett, a well known master planner, turned Washington Boulevard into a Beaux-Arts streetscape. More buildings were planned, but not built because of the Great Depression.
From the Detroit News archives come the following picture and text:
The crown jewel in Detroit's skyline
The Book Cadillac Hotel, at right, constructed during the Detroit building boom, helped transform Washington Boulevard into a fashionable rival to New York's Fifth Ave.And two random postcards found in the web.
Detroit 1936
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