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in favor, opposed, abstentions, motion carries, move on the minutes as everyone has a chance to read the draft overnight, there is a spelling on my report that is talking about the process. 


the Chair. Good afternoon board members by resolution dated November 21 2024 the Detroit City Council charged the historic designation advisory board with the official study of the conductor's protective assurance building, also known as the CPA building Historic District. I'd like to introduce first our ad hoc committee members for this designation process. Mr. Robert Zoe is the owner of the CPA building. He does reside out of state. He is in New Jersey, and I don't think he is on the line with us. Unfortunately, we have been in correspondence with him. He has agreed for this process to go forward, so hopefully he will be able to join us at the future public hearing and meeting here as well. But we also have in person with us, Blake Olmstead, who is seated old Shapiro, who is a who is the president of the Corktown Historical Society and also a Corktown resident and has agreed to be the other ad hoc committee member for this process. So please welcome Blake. So on the screen, you'll see a map the proposed boundaries of the CPA building Historic District, run on the north, the center line of east, west alley parallel to and north of Michigan Avenue on the east, the center line of 14th Street on the south, the center line of Michigan Avenue and on the west, the westerly boundary extended northerly and southerly of Lot three of the subdivision of the god growing farm, PC 726, lying between Michigan Avenue and Grand River Avenue, as reported in lieu one page 293, Platts wayne county records the boundaries described above delineate the parcel presently and historically occupied By the proposed CPA building. Historic Districts, original footprint and to its west, a non contributing lot at 20 to 16 Michigan Avenue. At the time of this proposed designation, on this lot stands a drive through structure canopy that also is non contributing and is attached to the CPA building. The proposed Historic District is in the port town neighborhood, District Six to the north, across Michigan Avenue from the Michigan Central Station. We acknowledge the native peoples and cultures who lived on this land, that included the Chippewa, Ottawa, Potawatomi nations, as well as those traveling through the area, including the ashinavi, Wyandot, Iroquois, Fox, Miami and salt, multiple trail systems, including the Great soft trail, the path, sometimes referred to as the Potawatomi trail, is now known as Michigan Avenue in 1825, President James Monroe signed a bill into law that funded the survey for The Michigan road. Also known now is Michigan Avenue. Criteria, the conductor's protective assurance building, again, CPA building is significant under HDAB criterion, one which is similar to the National Register. Criterion, a sites, building, structures or archeological sites, were cultural, social, spiritual, economic, political or architectural history of the community, city, state or nation is particularly reflected or exemplified. The CPA building is also significant under HDAB criterion three, which is similar to the National Register Criterion C buildings or structures which embody the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural specimen, inherently valuable as a representation of a period, style or method of construction,
the completion of the building, CPA took occupancy of the entire sixth floor. A branch of central saving bank opened on the ground floor, two additional store spaces were on the ground floor as well. 14 business office spaces were made available on the floors two through five. These were often occupied by real estate and insurance companies, contractors, and at one time, a dentist. The CPA company remained in the building until 1990 when it moved to the suburbs, it was acquired by a California company in 2010 and dissolved in 2012 while the bank occupant changed several times. The ground level maintained a bank tenant well into the 1980s in 1959 the adjacent building to the west, which can be slightly seen here in this image on the screen, was raised to accommodate a bank customer parking lot and a drive up window. By 1977 a new drive through structure with a canopy teller stands and a drive up window was constructed by the Bank of Commonwealth. The CPA building is highly visible and is distinguished by its angled corner location at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and 14th Street. Michigan Avenue became one of Judge Augustus Woodward's major diagonal avenues laid out in his 1805 city of Detroit plan by 1940 it was widened to 120 feet, but had no impact on the CPA building. The building's location across from the Michigan Central Station, as you can see here in the image on the screen, was well suited for its purpose, serving workers of the railroad industry, and in that it provided the opportunity for great visibility on a busy commercial corridor. The angled site allowed the building's architect Alvin e Harley, to utilize a flat iron design giving prominence to both Michigan Avenue and 14th street
building is neoclassical, a style often used in the 1920s for commercial buildings, especially related to finance and banking. The style was thought of as dignified with classical features such as plasters embellished breezes and cornices and dental and detailed such as details, excuse me, such as dental moldings. Alvin e Harley was a well known architect who practiced in Detroit from 1903 to 1963 he moved to Detroit from London, Ontario at a time when the city was expanding and business for architects was plentiful as the automobile manufacturing boom was just getting underway. Harley worked as a draftsman and apprentice with two of the city's leading architects, first Albert Kahn in 1903 and then George D Mason in 1905 exposing him to industrial projects as well as more traditional architectural design. Harley joined in partnership with another architect from Mason's office, Norman Swain Atchison in 1908 and remained in partnership with him through 1912 during that time, the number of buildings constructed in Detroit more than doubled, and Harley and Acheson contributed to that count with the administration building and exhibition building at the State Fairgrounds and here, The Henry Clay hotel at 1538 Center Street, built actually in 1913 both the CPA building and the Henry Clay hotel are two of the most distinctive flat iron buildings in Detroit. In 1912 their partnership was dissolved and Harley became the sole owner of Alvin e Harley architects 1912 to 1932 Harley successful. Harley's success paralleled that of the growing automobile industry. His residential business thrived. He designed residences in the in the Detroit prestigious neighborhoods of Indian village and Palmer woods and fashionable suburban communities such as gross point green built hills. He continued to do commercial and industrial work as well as he served, and also served in 1921 as president of the Michigan Society of architects, now the American Institute of Architects of Michigan. The Wall Street crash of 1929 took a major toll on architects nationwide as the depression set in, Harley set up mausoleum and cemetery work before merging partnerships with Harold slate Ellington in 1933 forming Harley and Ellington architects and engineers. In 1943 they merged with Charles E day, becoming Harley Ellington and day from 1941 to 1960
upper floor offices in the fourth Bay is a duplicate of the front entrance, although there is no clock in the transom over the doors, There is, however, a carving of a locomotive, as was seen on an earlier slide the rear or North elevation along the Fisher service drive has similar materials and detailing of its upper stories with Windows mimicking the single bay entrance facade at the southeast corner. Its non decorative back door and equal height side window are boarded. The image to the right shows this entrance and window in 2017 the west elevation is faced with brick and lax architectural embellishments as it was historically, partially covered by a smaller scaled building within the Michigan Avenue commercial block that we saw in the historic image earlier. Seen above this facade is a rooftop penthouse structure, and the West beside contains 14 non decorative metal framed two over two upper story windows. At the time of this report, 13 of the 14 windows were boarded. You can see just one window that is unboarded. But again, in the 2017 image to the right, you'll see how they appeared prior to the board up a white brick 
based rectangular plan structure containing a drive up window, now boarded also and a drive through banking canopy with column supports was attached to the building in 1977 the drive through structure canopy and Western lot are non contributing to the proposed Historic District. The proposed CPA building historic districts. Period of significance extends from its year of construction, 1924 to 1959 when the adjoining two story building at 2216 Michigan Avenue was raised for a parking lot and drive up window, altering the CPA buildings functional relationship to its site, as previously noted, a 1977 drive through banking structure with canopy was attached at this side of the building. It is a non contributing feature, while the report notes a published description of the interior lobby. The interior is not subject to the proposed Historic District, so board members. What is before you is a request for approval of the draft preliminary report with any recommended changes. Again, to summarize the proposed CPA building. Historic District consists of a single contributing building resource, the lot to the west of the building addressed as 2216 Michigan Avenue and the attached drive through structure canopy are non contributing to the district, while the boundaries do encircle this side West lot. Also, I want to acknowledge Deborah Goldstein, the original researcher and author of this report, as well as Rebecca Savage, who did additional research and writing. I also want to acknowledge Dan Austin and Benjamin gravel, who provided some historic photos for us in this presentation. Thank you for your consideration.
you saw from some of the earlier 2017 images, the building department, building the safety department, at that time, was really pushing for something to be done to the building, and so at one point, as the building department often will do, they'll say, rehab or demolish. So he was moving forward with the Demolition Plan, at which point there was a lot of outcry. And so then there was the original report for an interim designation that this office prepared. And that's why I acknowledge Deborah Goldstein as the original author of this report in 2017 because we were just able to take that report and update it that had gone all the way through the process of being signed off by the law department. The city council had never finalized it, but at that time, Robert Salton Oid the decision to do the board up, and it's been in that condition ever since. And of course, he's tried to sell it before. Now he's repositioning it sort of in this different way from a sales perspective,