Broderick Tower Lofts

Identification

Map

Structure in general

Usage

Facts

• Renovation work has begun on the tower following the securing of financing in December 2010.
• Pre-renovation work on this tower started in the winter of 2005, after much speculation.
• Was the second tallest building in Michigan when it was completed in 1928.
• After David Broderick's death in 1957, the tower changed hands many times between 1963 and 1976, finally ending up in the hands of the Higgins family, which retains a stake in the ownership to this day.
• After his purchase of the tower in 1945, David Broderick created the Sky Top Club on the 33rd floor of the tower, which was a private club used for entertaining Mr. Broderick's associates and guests.
• The building changed ownership and names in 1945, when the tower was purchased by David Broderick, a Detroit insurance broker, which he then renamed after himself.
• The tower was originally constructed as the Eaton Tower, named after Theodore Horation Eaton, Jr., an importer and dealer in chemicals and dyes.
• Once the restoration is complete, the tower will contain retail and entertainment floors 1 through 4 (with a separate mezzanine above floor 1), office space on floors 5 and 6, and residential space on the top floors 7 through 34.
• This tower is in the Chicago School style topped by a Beaux Arts/Neo-classical inspired crown.
• Before the decorative cornices were removed, this building was 371'-6" to the top of the parapet wall, and 376'-7" tall to the very tip of the decorative cornice.
• The tower is not a square, but actually a parallelogram in shape.
• The humpback whale mural on the rear facade of the building was painted by Metro-Detroit native eco-artist, Wyland and was dedicated on Oct. 13, 1997.
• The building is currently not in use, except for a restaurant on the ground floor.