Download Current Historical Markers - Birmingham Shopping District

Birmingham Selected Downtown Historic Buildings – May 18, 2014 Self-guided Tour
Community Profile – Birmingham, Michigan
The City of Birmingham is vibrant and prosperous, with a population of over 20,000. With charming tree-lined neighborhoods Birmingham has the
feel of a small town as well as an affluent urban area. Birmingham has a lively, pedestrian-friendly downtown offering one of the midwest's premiere
shopping districts. Comprised of nearly 300 retailers, downtown Birmingham offers a wonderfully diverse assortment of fashion boutiques,
restaurants, gift stores, jewelers, salons, spas, antique shops, and art galleries. Movie theatres and a centrally located park complete the city center.
Located along Woodward Avenue, Michigan’s Main Street, Birmingham is centrally located within Oakland County and Metro Detroit.
Birmingham Downtown Historic Walking Tour
May 18, 2014
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1. The Community House was founded in 1923, and hosted dances,
parties, and other civic events.
This small building became a hub of community activity, and by 1928
it was evident that a much larger facility would be required. A capital
campaign was launched which raised $125,000 from area individuals,
civic and social groups and businesses. In April 1930, the new building
on Bates Street opened with a celebration attended by more than 5,000
people, including Clara and Henry Ford.
The Community House
Today, The Community House has 210,000 visitors annually, offers
over 1000 yearly class options, 15,100 class registrations, including
everything from cooking and art history classes to yoga and fencing.
The Community House is home to the Early Childhood Center (child
care and preschool); TCH Dance Academy; and the Sara Smith Youth
Theatre. The public is welcome to join various TCH Clubs including
Friends of the Gardens, the International Community Club, the
Newcomers Club, as well as the Senior Men’s and Women’s Clubs.
2. In 1941, Cuban-born Michigan artist Carlos Lopez was awarded the
commission to create a mural in the just-built Birmingham Post Office.
The $1400 prize was underwritten by the Works Progress
Administration (WPA). Lopez had painted post office murals in
Washington, DC, in Illinois, and elsewhere in Michigan.
Birmingham Post Office Dedication, 1940
The Birmingham mural represents a circa 1850 country picnic scene
based on the recollections of an area resident, complete with pig roast
and Shakespearean performers. Called “The Pioneering Society’s
Picnic,”Lopez used historical photos for reference, and also local
citizens as models. The work was locally criticized by some who
thought Lopez was an outsider and that the Birmingham pioneers
depicted looked “Negroid” and Chinese. Lopez countered that the
naysayers should study the reference photographs. In the end, the
controversy was short lived. Lopez went on to be honored by the
WPA for his achievements.
3. The Allen House was built in 1928 on land that was part of the first
parcel in Birmingham sold by the federal government in 1818. The
four acre hillside site overlooking the Rouge River remains one of the
favorite outdoor settings in Birmingham. The house is located on the
spot where Birmingham’s first brick school building was built in
1856, a charming Gothic Revival structure that Harry and Marion
Allen tried to incorporate into the plans for this house. However, the
building proved too fragile to save. Instead, the Allens reused a
portion of one wall (identifiable on the southeast corner of the porch)
and reclaimed the remaining bricks for the porch of their Colonial
Revival house.
The Allen House, 1928
Harry Allen (1882-1957) was Birmingham’s first mayor after the city
officially incorporated in 1933. The family lived here until Marion
sold the property to the city in 1969 with the intention of eventually
turning it into a historical museum. The Allen House was operated as
a banquet facility for weddings and parties until the Birmingham
Historical Museum officially opened on May 19, 2001. The museum
grounds are a public park that includes the 1822 Hunter House.
4. John West Hunter built this timber-framed house in 1822 on the
Saginaw Indian Trail (now Old Woodward) in what is now
Birmingham. This nicely framed building replaced a more primitive
log cabin that Hunter had erroneously built on another settler’s
property. The walls are heavy slabs of local white pine, set vertically
on the foundation plate and then pegged together. Lath and plaster
cover the slabs on the inside, and clapboard siding and Greek Revival
detailing on the exterior—very fancy and fashionable for the time.
The Hunter House being moved in 1970.
John West Hunter had many economic interests. In addition to
farming, he had a blacksmith shop and established a foundry, and is
credited with casting the first iron plow in the Michigan Territory. He
was active in early Oakland County government. Hunter also opened
a tavern in his home for a short time to serve the needs of travelers
coming up the Saginaw Trail on their way to Pontiac and beyond.
In 1893, the Hunter House was moved from its original location on
Woodward to 264 West Brown Street where it sat for seventy years.
In 1968, James K. Flack offered the house to the City of Birmingham
and in July of 1970 it was again moved to its present location.
The Hunter House
5. In the 1920s, local leaders conceived of a Civic Center for
Birmingham that would include a new city hall, a park, and a library.
The city hall and library were designed by Burrowes & Eurich, a
Detroit firm. Both buildings use complementary designs and
materials. Groundbreaking for city hall began in January of 1928.
Construction was complete within ten months, permitting the village
commission to hold its October meeting in the new building.
Among famous visitors to Birmingham’s Civic Center was President
Gerald R. Ford, who spoke at a rally here in 1976.
The interior of the building was renovated in1993, but the original
marble floors and elaborate wood trim remain part of the décor.
Birmingham City Hall
The building still houses the entire Police Department, including the
original lock-up, City Clerk, Treasurer, Community Development
Department, Engineering, City Manager and HR departments.
6. This three story art deco structure was designed by Albert Kahn. It
was built in 1928 at a cost of $200,000. It opened to the public on
January 11, 1929. Retail stores were located on the lower floor, and
professional offices were located on the upper two floors. The original
concept was for an eight story building, but when local residents
objected, it was scaled back to its existing height.
It was built and owned by the interests of Michigan Senator James
Couzens, who kept an office here. The building maintains much of its
original appearance on the second and third floors. The first floor
arches are only visible on the west side of the building along Bates
Street.
The Wabeek Building
7. In May of 1929, the Briggs Commercial and Development Company
announced plans to build a ten-store project with office space on the
second floor. The architect for the building was C. Howard Crane, a
renowned theater architect, who designed Detroit’s Fox Theater.
The construction cost was $200,000. The initial retail tenants in the
Briggs Building included F.W. Woolworth Company, Piggly-Wiggly
Company Grocery Store, the Birmingham Department Store, and the
Economical Drug Company. For many years, it was the location of
Cunningham’s Drugs, which is how many locals still remember it.
Briggs Building
8. The Briggs Improvement Company and John H. Kunsky Theatrical
Enterprises erected this large building in 1926 to contain shops,
offices, a bowling alley in the basement, and a motion picture theater
with facilities for vaudeville productions. The theater ceased operation
in 1994 but was restored to its former grandeur and reopened two years
later, in 1996.
Except for the individual storefronts, which have been changed
frequently, the façade looks today very much as it did in 1926. Among
the famous office tenants of this building were CREEM Magazine
(1973-1987) and noted author Elmore Leonard.
Birmingham Theater