Penobscot Building

Identification

Map

Structure in general

Usage

Facts

• The building was designed by Wirt C. Rowland of the leading Detroit architectural firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls.
• Clad in Indiana limestone with a granite base, it rises like a shear cliff for thirty stories, then has a series of setbacks culminating in a red neon beacon tower.
• Ornamentation follows American Indian motifs, particularly in the entrance archway and in metalwork found in the lobby.
• 8th tallest building in the world, when it was completed.
• The old framing elevation drawing of this building list is as being 562'-2" to the highest roof, approximately 565'-8" to the parapet wall around the roof, and 654'-2" to the top of the warning beacon atop the antenna.
• The Smart Detroit Conference Center occupies space on the 13th floor, and includes Class A conference, meeting, or convention space.
• When built, this was the tallest building in the world outside New York and Chicago.
• The Penobscot Building was Detroit's tallest building for nearly half a century until the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center overtook it in 1977.