The El Moore, a historic apartment building erected in 1898 and located on the corner of 2nd Avenue and West Alexandrine, is a sustainable urban living reconstruction project slated to open in the spring of 2015. The El Moore itself is a story of Detroit; one of many stories about our city, from the past […]
Voices of Detroit: British Detroit Read More »
The Rooftop Cabins, perched atop the historic El Moore building, may be the most creative and controversial element of our renovation project. In Episode 1 of our podcast collection, “Stories of the El Moore,” we explain the series of decisions that led to the current design of the Rooftop Cabins, even how they got their name.
Rooftop Cabins – What were you guys thinking? Read More »
As we’ve mentioned in earlier posts, the El Moore was designed in 1898 by local architect Almon Clother Varney. Besides being an authority on gracious living in late 19th century Detroit (see Our Homes and Their Adornments , 1883), Varney was a prolific architect. His creations, which included apartment buildings, factories and offices, hotels and private residences,
Mr. Varney’s Neighborhood Read More »
Those who know the history of the City of Detroit know that our City was founded three hundred and thirteen years ago in 1701, by French explorers. Our Area Code is also “313”, so we have been really celebrating this year! “De-troit” can be roughly translated from the French to “the straits”. French explorer and
The Voices of Detroit: French Detroit Read More »
When work began on the El Moore, we were intrigued by the discovery that the builder had run parallel lines, gas and electric, for some of the lighting fixtures. Why both? What was going on back then? Of course, we had to learn more! We know that the 1880’s and 1890’s were a period of transition
Shifting Technologies, again, at the El Moore Read More »
The El Moore is a project under construction that will be a model of urban residential sustainable living. Like most cities in the United States, Detroit went through a phase of “urban renewal” in the mid-20th century, with very mixed results. Jane Jacobs, author of the seminal 1961 book on urban planning, The Death and
Detroit, the El Moore, and Jane Jacobs Read More »
The El Moore, a sustainable urban living reconstruction project in Detroit at the corner of 2nd Avenue and West Alexandrine, is a beautiful example of late 19th and early 20th century history in Detroit. But Detroit’s history, of course, goes much, much further back—starting with the original people to inhabit this area: the First Nations
The Voices of Detroit: The People of the Council of the Three Fires Read More »
“This whole area was big automotive when it started.” –Pat Dorne, Executive Director, Cass Corridor Neighborhood Development Corporation Cass Corridor has been a lot of things throughout the years, but in those early years during the latter part of the 1800s when the area was really coming to life, the area surrounding the El Moore and
The automotive widows of Cass Corridor Read More »
