Located on East Dearborn's main business intersection at Michigan Avenue and Schaefer Road, there is an architectural gem, the historic John H. Schaefer Building. The threestory Art Deco behemoth takes up an entire city block. When it was erected in 1930, it was said to be the largest commercial block on Michigan Avenue from downtown Detroit and Chicago, Illinois. There is some real 1920s architecture in East Dearborn such as the Montgomery Ward building, the Dearborn City Hall, the former Midway Theater and Tamy's Diner, formerly a White Tower. None represent the celebrated Zigzag architectural style of the booming 1920 better than the Schaefer Building says Boettcher.
German immigrant, John Wilhelmi purchased a strip of farmland in Springwells Township along today's Schaefer Road between Michigan Avenue and Ford Road. Wilhelmi passed on some of the land and his successful tavern to neighbor, Joseph Schaefer who was married to Wilhelmi's daughter, Josephine.
In 1866, Schaefer erected a frame building next to the tavern and called the commercial complex, "Six Mile House," so called because it was six miles from Detroit City Hall. Joseph's son John H. Schaefer was born at this popular landmark in 1868. John took over the operation of Six Mile House in 1891 and ran it until he was forced to close due to Prohibition. In 1929, John decided to carry on the legacy of progress established by his father and grandfather. He leveled the old inn and broke ground for a new structure: a massive granite and terra-cotta retail and office complex in the modern Art Deco styling that was sweeping the nation. It would cost $300,000 to build and would be a monument befitting the modern community that Springwells had become and his family helped to build.
Schaefer named the building after himself, the John H. Schaefer Building. Louis Kamper, the dean of Detroit architects who already designed over one hundred buildings in the Detroit area, was commissioned. Despite his expertise, Kamper was a curious choice by Schaefer since Kamper was considered a "nineteenth century architect" who specialized in classical and Italian Renaissance styles. He had no experience designing in the Art Deco idiom that became popular decades after Kamper designed this building.
However, Kamper was the most famous architect in Detroit with a national reputation, which must have appealed to Schaefer's sense of status. Perhaps he also felt a kinship with Kamper, who was a German immigrant as were Schaefer's forbearers. Furthermore, architects of the era eagerly adopted the Art Deco style for clients in smaller towns, to give the locale a "big city" feel, as in the case of Dearborn's Schaefer Building.
Who was John H. Schaefer? By the time of the Schaefer Building's commissioning, the 63-year-old Schaefer had long been a prominent member of the Dearborn community. After closing Six Mile Inn in 1918, he established the successful Schaefer Box Lunch Company, which catered food to the workers at the enormous Ford Rouge factory. During the 1920, the now wealthy Schaefer served as a director of the Springwells Home Savings Bank. Testifying to his popularity and influence, Schaefer's funeral in 1941 was considered the largest Springwells had known to date.
Schaefer Road forms the boundary of the Schaefer Building to the west, Michigan Avenue to the south and Calhoun Street to the East. To the north, a plaza separates the building from a commercial parking lot. The building's footprint, in the shape of a rough pentagon, conforms to the old geometry of the original block. The Schaefer Building originally included room for six businesses, with the largest space, 12,000 square feet, occupied by the former S.S. Kresge Store. Oakwood Hospital is now located there with the 2,134 square foot space at the center now an open pedestrian corridor.
The impact of the structure on the East Dearborn streetscape is startling. It seems as if the enormous building has been dropped from the sky by some Mayan deity. Its exuberant styling and bright beige coloration appear incongruous when compared with the restrained Georgian styling of the Montgomery Ward and City Hall structures that surround it. Nondescript commercial buildings along the streetscape seem overpowered by the Schaefer Building. Even the Midway Theatre directly across Schaefer Road, in similar Zigzag styling, seems an abandoned child next to its massive cousin.
If the Schaefer Building seems so preponderant, even preposterous today, consider what its impact must have been in 1930! One could imagine more conservative townsfolk thinking it an obscene monument to John Schaefer's ego, particularly compared to the modest Six Mile House that stood on the site for generations. Then again, others may have been delighted at the sight of such a forward-looking building in their midst. Either way, the building was considered "handsome" by local preservationists Savage and Kowalski, who included it in their book of Detroit area Art Deco structures.
The focal point of the Schaefer Building is a central tower that straddles the corner of Schaefer Road and Michigan Avenue.
Interestingly, the tower's stepped-out first floor façade would seem to be an obvious point-of-entry from the street corner but this is not the case and never has been. Instead, there is a visual front window looking into an office area. The tower rises two stories and then steps back into a third story with a crown, evoking a Mayan stepped pyramid, a common element of zigzag.
Extending from the central tower to the east along Michigan Avenue is the two-story south elevation and to the north along Schaefer Road is the two-story west elevation. Atop the south elevation adjacent to the central tower is a third floor addition, not original to the building.
A two-story tower similar in form to the central tower anchors the south elevation. The west elevation is anchored by a two-story formation that evokes the central tower on a smaller scale. The east elevation facing Calhoun Street continues to the north and concludes in a similar evocation of the central tower. Finally, the building has a two-story rear north elevation that angle in an unusual V-shape with the crux of the angle in the midsection of the façade.
Commercial establishments with plate glass front windows extend along the
first floors of all four facades. Along the three street fronts,
rectangular spandrels made of what appears to be black vitrolite crown
the windows. The major tenant is an administrative branch of Oakwood
Hospital, whose offices flank both sides of the central tower. The rear
elevation contains the only nod to Streamline Moderne: three bays of
glass block windows to allow light into an area of the first floor.
The position of the entryways to the interior lobby and stairway vestibules is an unusual, if not a bit confusing, aspect of the Schaefer Building. The primary entrance seems hidden away halfway along the Michigan Avenue expanse. A second entrance is in the Schaefer Avenue corner formation; a third is in the Calhoun Street corner formation and a fourth is located at the center of the rear elevation. One would expect an entranceway to be in the large corner tower at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Calhoun Street, but as with the central tower, there is none.
Terra cotta was the favored exterior cladding material of the Zigzag Moderne architects. This rugged building material, made of baked clay molded into decorative panels, looks like stone or brick but is much less expensive to use. The John H. Schaefer Building is a fine example of this preference. Practically the entire surface of the building exterior is clad with terra cotta, with three exceptions. The façade of the first floor is faces with black mottled granite in an ashlar finish. Two corner sections feature granite blocks of two types: black ashlar and beige with a rough finish. The rear façade is the third exception, clad with smooth white brick in American bond.
Kamper's choice of terra cotta decorative elements is classic Zigzag. Here we find vertical bands and zigs, chevrons, pyramids and narrow pilasters placed upon slightly protruding piers whose capitals jut modestly above the roofline. All of these elements give the building an upward thrust characteristic of the American Vertical Style.
Other decorative elements that lend visual interest are lion paws, recessed blocks in the central tower and bird-like images. Hidden behind the third story addition is a decorative white brick tower projecting from the roof that encloses an exhaust flue. The tower sports geometric emblems, corner blocks and a cornice of terra-cotta panels. Kamper uses color discretely throughout the façades. There are occasional green chevron or maize zigzags, while all decorative features are of darker beige, which set them off from the lighter-toned flat smooth panels in running bond, upon which they rest.
Tim Attala, a Dearborn attorney of Palestinian heritage, is the current owner of the building. He cut the first floor corridor/lobby out of previous retail space during major renovations in 1997. Previously, there were only small vestibules inside the entranceways that led to elevators and stairways to the upper floors. The new corridor allows more convenient customer access to the retail businesses, elevators, stairwells and to the south and north exits.
In Attalla's new lobby, terrazzo panels match the original line of the floor in the familiar beige tone of the exterior. Corner sections have facing of red mottled polished granite similar to the exterior granite blocks. New directional signage feature zigzag imagery, as do the trapezoidal lighting fixtures. Attalla believes the lighting fixture on the ceiling of one of the entrance vestibules is original to the building. A windowed alcove features original granite flooring that matches the corner facing.
In the third floor suite, tucked beneath the crown of the central tower, is a completely remodeled lobby of a gasoline distributor. Two fireplaces with terra cotta facings that replicate the geometric design elements of the exterior are beautiful relics, which have been restored in separate offices in the section. Stairwells retain their original terrazzo flooring and partial rough faced granite walls replicate the granite block of the exterior corners.
How has the John H. Schaefer Building evolved over time? A photograph from the Dearborn Historical Society shows the central tower section and left and right expanses as they looked in 1930 when the building had its grand opening. Differences from today include awnings between the first floor visual front windows and their spandrels and the upper building. There are no windows cut into the original façade of the tower's third story as there are now. Neither was there a third story addition along Michigan Avenue. The brick tower encasing the exhaust flue would have been visible from Michigan Avenue and not concealed by the addition as it is today.
Characteristic of the era's optimism, (soon to be crushed by the stock market crash), the corner section had been planned to accommodate an additional eight stories, although an August 1929 newspaper report notes with sarcasm, "only if there is a rapid increase in land value in Dearborn which reads more like fiction than fact." Another report notes that the building offers 33,000 square feet of retail floor space. A S.S. Kresge store will occupy 11,000 square feet "and will be one of the largest in the country." As testimony to Schaefer's business acumen and prominence in the community, the article says the building will be constructed by a Schaefer co-owned construction company and that another business of his, the John H. Schaefer Real Estate Company was being relocated from the old Six Mile House tavern to a temporary site.
The Schaefer family sold the building in 1960 for $1 million to an unidentified buyer. Its major tenants were a Kinsel drugstore, a Woolworth and the S.S. Kresge store. An 1965 photograph shows that Kresge remained a tenant and the third floor addition had been constructed. A later photograph in 1975 indicates that Kresge was no longer a tenant and the building was in need of a thorough exterior washing. We see here the loss of tenants caused by the development in the 1970s of the nearby Fairlane Town Mall and the deterioration of the shopping district as reflected in the building's lack of upkeep.
The mentioned unknown buyer, identified in a newspaper article as a "New
York firm" sold the building to Ford Motor Land Development Corporation
in 1980, City administrators were jubilant, citing Ford's commitment to
invest $1 million into the building's rehabilitation that could
potentially spur private investment into East Dearborn. Though all the
first floor retail space was occupied, the entire two upper floors of
office space were empty. "Ford's plan will provide some badly needed
office space and preserve one of Dearborn's most noted historical
structures", said an optimistic Mayor John O'Reilly.
Another 1980s article indicated that the Schaefer Building was in "great need of physical restoration. The offices are very small, tenants wouldn't move into the offices as they now exist." Microfiche records show that Ford Land did indeed gut the entire second floor and enlarge and modernize the office suites. A Ford Land brochure from the mid- 1980s shows that Dearborn Bank and Trust and Jo-Ann Fabrics were major tenants, the current casement windows installed and the exterior had been washed.
By 1990, Ford Land decided to sell the building. As they did in the 1970s, city officials blamed Ford Land's Fairlane Mall as the major reason for East Dearborn's economic decline, including, ironically, Ford's difficulty in renting Schaefer's commercial space. In 1991, Jo-Ann Fabrics and two other businesses had vacated the building along with Ford Land offices, spreading fear among business owners that the vacancies were a barometer of the area's continual downward spiral. "Sander's and Winkelmans are the only things holding that thing together," said one business leader. There was hopeful speculation that year that the building could become a district court house.
The Schaefer Building remained unsold for four years. In 1994, Attalla, along with two partners, convinced Ford Land to sell the property for much less than market value. As "collateral", they offered the assurance that as local owners and committed Dearborn residents, they were dedicated to restoring the building and the area to its former glory. "I'm a local guy and we will make it work", Attalla told Ford Land executives. Ford was eager to sell and considered Attalla as something of a naïve dreamer, as indicated by a mocking illustration in what I am told is a Ford Land newsletter.
"It looked like an abandoned building when I bought it," says Attalla about those early days as a nervous landlord. Only two tenants, Winkelmans and One Price, generated precious income from eight thousand out of a possible 32,000 square feet of commercial space. Here is what Attalla has done since then to restore and rehabilitate the Schaefer Building. The intrepid attorney immediately invested $300,000 in the first phase of renovation in 1994. He tore out the closed Sanders Ice Cream Shop and prepared it for occupancy by Payless Shoes; remodeled a few second story offices and brought the entire building up to state historical standards.
Attalla launched the second phase in 1997, after convincing Oakwood Hospital and Ameritech to rent a combined 22,000 square feet of space. Here are the results of the attorney's $1.8 million investment:
- Prepared 15,000 square feet for Oakwood's first floor offices.
- Removed a 3.8 million BTU boiler in the basement, removed all radiators and installed a modern HVAC system.
- Installed new first floor visual front windows, including new spandrels with black anodized aluminum trim. Pushed out the windows to be flush with the façade.
- Tuck-pointed 40,000 linear feet of mortar.
- Replaced damaged granite blocks and terra cotta panels and decorations, including making new molds.
- Chemically washed the building's entire façade.
- Removed asbestos insulation discovered during demolition.
- Created an interior corridor from former retail space.
In 2004, Attalla continued his rehabilitation efforts by removing asbestos in the walls of the basement as a prelude to making the space more usable for clients. He currently has five tenants on the first floor, three on the second, nine on the third and one in the central tower crown. Attalla feels his efforts to make the Schaefer Building a more vital part of the economic and cultural landscape of East Dearborn have been well worth it, to the benefit of the community and to himself. Out of 65,000 total square feet of rental space, only 3,500 feet is currently unoccupied. The building was appraised in 2002 at a value of $6 million, making Attalla and his partners' $660,000 gamble in 1994 a wise business investment.
As for those who scoffed ten years ago, calling the John H. Schaeffer Building "Attalla's Folly," "I got the last laugh," he says with good humor.
Consider the rich, cultural and architectural heritage discussed in this article: the accomplishments of Dearborn pioneers John Wilhelmi and Joseph Schaefer and the union of their families by marriage, the landmark Six Mile House that greeted generations of grateful travelers along the historic Chicago Road; entrepreneur John H. Schaefer and his importance to Dearborn's civic life; Shaefer's vision for a "modern" building to make proud the city that he loved; Joseph Kamper, the gifted architect who designed that building in a style unique to his career; the minor structures that make the intersection of Michigan and Schaefer a little Art Deco town.
Michael Boettcher, of the East Dearborn DDA, is preparing documentation to have the East Dearborn commercial district a state historic district. Tim Attalla, the owner of the building that stands proudly at the district's vortex, is considering applying for historic recognition for his structure. I hope both applications are successful. Formal recognition can only help to bring economic and cultural renewal to this section of Dearborn that well deserves it.
Daniel Gallio will finish his MS degree in Historic Preservation at Eastern Michigan University this June. He is a marketing communications professional who works at Sacred Heart Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Detroit.
