by Rebecca Binno
The Ann Arbor Bus Depot is a testament to the Streamline Moderne style, representing transportation as modern, clean and contemporary. Built in 1940, the Depot was designed by the architects Banfield & Cumming of Cleveland in association with local architect Douglas Loree. The Ann Arbor Bus Depot (116 West Huron) retains most of its original curved glass windows and has a fabulous stainless steel vertical sign and canopy. Perhaps most significant is the fact that this is the last remaining intact Streamline Moderne building in Ann Arbor.
The Bus Depot was listed on the Ann Arbor Register of Historic Places as an Individual Historic Property in 1988. That means it is recognized as being significant to the city’s architectural history and important as a unique commercial transportation structure. A demolition request was submitted to the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission in March 1998 by the building’s owners, the First Martin Corporation. They asked that the demolition request be considered under a section of the City’s ordinance that implies that the Bus Depot will “stand in the way of a large project for the betterment of the community.”
First Martin Corporation wants to construct an office building that will be 10 stories tall, containing approximately 120,000 square feet of space and have a 600 FAR (Floor Area Ratio). This new building is allowed under the current zoning. Unfortunately, the Depot is a “taxpayer” that does not utilize its entire zoning envelope. One can understand the scale of the new building by taking a look at the building next to the Depot. “The Cube,” as it is known locally, is a bland, contemporary, eight-story office building (Comerica Bank is on the first floor).
FACADE-ECTOMY At the Commission’s June 11th public hearing, a revised presentation was made by the architect (Mr. Meneghini) and the developer (First Martin Corporation) to incorporate the facade of the bus depot into the new office building’s first-floor exterior. This facade-ectomy was found to be appropriate by most of the Historic District Commissioners. Another public hearing will be scheduled, but it looks like the new plan will be approved.
Rebecca Binno, Preservation Committee Chair of the Detroit Area Art Deco Society, testified in opposition to the demolition of the building and in opposition to the use of only the building’s facade. The reuse of only the facade of this designated historic structure in the proposed office building is a loss to the community.
What would the Commission’s response have been if one of Ann Arbor’s Queen Ann homes had been in this location instead of this 20th Century commercial structure? This is another case of our moderne architecture being considered expendable and not appreciated as significant to the community’s history.