Letter to Editor: Grinnell Building Worthy of Historic Designation

The following letter was sent to Royal Oak Patch by Mollie Decker, an architecture student at the University of Detroit Mercy: 

As a masters level architecture student, one would think I am constantly aware of the buildings and architecture that surround me. I would love to believe this is true, but it is easy to be oblivious of the beauty in our built environment unless one is given a reason to rationalize it.

My historic preservation class at the University of Detroit Mercy, taught by Stephen Vogel, encouraged me to start thinking about the architecture that makes up the streets of downtown Royal Oak. As our major assignment for the class, I was asked to choose a building that is more than 50 years old and go through the process of filling out documentation to get it nationally registered as a historic landmark.

The assignment led to my discovery of a building I pass nearly everyday as a resident of Royal Oak.

Michigan-based architect Glen Paulsen designed the Grinnell Music Building on the corner of Washington and Fifth Street in downtown Royal Oak in 1951.

The building is a good representation of the modern style of architecture with it’s streamlined and minimal design, and it’s use of materials. The Grinnell building has a very sleek look, using lots of steel and glass, which bridges the interior and sidewalk. The building also has a large overhang, which works well to address the pedestrian condition along the thoroughfare of Washington Avenue.

The building uses green glazed bricks - a material developed while Paulsen was working under world-renowned architects Eliel and Eero Saarinen. These bricks could be made in any number of colors, and can also be seen on Saarinen’s buildings at the General Motors Technical Center.

To get a building nationally registered, it must meet certain criteria. The building must hold some, if not all, of the following qualifications:

• represent a specific style of architecture
• be associated with the lives of significant persons or events in the past
• be a source that has or will yield important historical information

The Grinnell building represents modern architecture, and is also associated with the Grinnell family - a prominent family in the Detroit area and the United States. The Grinnell’s had many showrooms and storage buildings across Michigan, the United States, and Canada. Famous architects designed many of the Grinnell buildings, including Albert Kahn.

And the fact that it was also a project led by Paulsen – an important Michigan architectural figure tied to the Saarinens – makes it a great candidate for becoming a nationally registered historic building.  

Paulsen, who designed many buildings around Detroit, including buildings on the Detroit Mercy and Wayne States campuses, passed away on Nov. 25, 2012 at age 95.

The most important thing to recognize about owning a historic building is that designation does not in any way infringe upon the rights of the building owner - unless he/she decides to accept federal or state money to restore the building. The Grinnell Music building could easily gain historic designation because of what its history means to the modern movement in architecture, as well as the respective histories of Paulsen and the Grinnell family.

When I was talking to Stacy Wells, the current owner of this historic building, I was happy to hear that she intends to keep the historic integrity of the building intact. It is great to see the old Grinnell building being transformed into her new L’Espirit School of Cosmetology. 

-Mollie Decker, Royal Oak