Downtown Detroit in Wayne County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Ford Building

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, November 11, 2015

1. Ford Building Marker

Inscription. Among Detroit’s first skyscrapers, the nineteen-story Ford Building was built between 1907 and 1909. The Chicago architectural firm Daniel H. Burnham and Company designed it and two other Detroit buildings, the Majestic and the Dime. One of the first buildings in Detroit to utilize a steel frame, the edifice is sheathed in terra cotta and accented with Italian marble. The 250-foot-tall structure was the tallest building in Detroit for several years. Named after Toledo based glass manufacturer Edward Ford (1843-1920), it served Detroit’s Financial District and housed several of the city’s leading legal firms. During the 1926 Ossian Sweet trials, Clarence Darrow led the defense from offices on the seventeenth floor.

Erected 2012 by Michigan Historical Commission – Michigan Historical Center. (Marker Number 727.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 42° 19.799′ N, 83° 2.819′ W. Marker is in Detroit, Michigan, in Wayne County. It is in Downtown Detroit. It is at the intersection of Griswold Street and W. Congress St., on the right when traveling south on Griswold Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 615 Griswold St, Detroit MI 48226, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Michigan.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other

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markers are within walking distance of this marker: History of the Penobscot Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); State Savings Bank (about 400 feet away); Stearns Telephone (about 400 feet away); Fort Lernoult (about 500 feet away); Soldiers and Sailors Memorial (about 500 feet away); Point Of Origin (about 600 feet away); Comerica Incorporated (about 600 feet away); The Iron Brigade / The Twenty-Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Detroit.

Also see . . . Historic Detroit. Excerpt:

The 18-story Ford Building opened on the northwestern corner of Griswold and Congress streets in 1908. When it opened, the Detroit Free Press trumpeted it as “the beginning of a new era in the building of Detroit Beautiful,” and said, “Probably no building project in the history of Detroit has been so noteworthy.” While Detroit had several skyscrapers at the time, the Ford not only soared over them all (in 1908, the Free Press called it the city’s “first real skyscraper”), it also revitalized Griswold Street –- which many thought had become rundown, antiquated and dead -– and kept the city’s business center from moving elsewhere in the city.

(Submitted on May 16, 2025, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)

Ford Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, November 11, 2015

2. Ford Building

Marker is located under the marquee awning, blocked by the truck in this view.

<i>Ford Building, Detroit, Mich.</i> image. Click for full size.

circa 1915

3. Ford Building, Detroit, Mich.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 20, 2015, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,257 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 20, 2015, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 3. submitted on November 22, 2015. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.