Smith, Hinchman and Grylls
Smith, Hinchman and Grylls

Author: Thomas J. Holleman

Publisher:

Published: 1978-10

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9788143161574

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The story of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls Associates, Inc., is also the story of the building of Detroit and Michigan. This long-established and respected national firm has designed more of downtown Detroit's buildings than any other company, while it has made a significant mark on architecture throughout the state. The firm has been based in Detroit since 1855, but Thomas J. Holleman and James P. Gallagher trace its history to Sheldon Smith's early practice of architecture in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1853, making it the oldest, continuously operating architectural and engineering practice in the United States. More than 230 photographs of buildings, renderings, floor plans, and documents in this volume illustrate the many remarkable achievements of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls over its 125 years. The authors trace the history of three generations of Smith architects: they describe the firm's incorporation, the wide range of its engineering and architectural achievements, and its expansion into a whole family of companies located in Ann Arbor, Louisville, Chicago, Phoenix, Washington, Toronto, Atlanta, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The practice grew from the days when its major commissions were fine residences, small hotels, and commercial blocks, to the era of skyscrapers and manufacturing plants, and finally to the era of multi-building complexes, space laboratories, and solar collectors here and abroad. Throughout its prestigious history, the firm has demonstrated its readiness to meet any engineering and architectural challenge. Its commissions are now located throughout the United States and in such distant locations as Scotland, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.

Engines of Change
Engines of Change

Author: Ian J. Kerr

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2006-12-30

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 0313046123

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The former Jewel in the Crown of the British Empire, India remains, by any measure, a major economic and political actor on the world scene. Without her extensive railway network—completed against all odds by her British colonial masters—it is impossible to imagine what might have become of the diverse lands and peoples of the subcontinent. These railway networks brought them together as a colony; these networks fostered the nationalism that would be Britain's downfall. This rail network both remade the physical landscape and brought social-cultural cohesion to a diverse and wide-ranging populace. It would be common rail travel that Gandhi would employ to reach the masses. From its romantic mystique to its dangerous reality, it is rail travel today that keeps vital social, cultural, economic and political forces moving. India's railroad history serves as a unique lens to her larger story of triumph over adversity. By 1905, India had the world's fourth largest railway network—a position it retains in the early 21st century. The railroads were at the organizational and technological center of many of the inter-related economic, political, social, cultural, and ecological transformations that produced modern India through, and out of, its colonial past. In addition to this vast technical achievement, and (in keeping with the series focus), there is an equally important and wide-sweeping human-interest tale to be told with evocative vignettes of the triumph of the human spirit (one billion strong!) in the face of great adversity.

Seasons of Grace
Seasons of Grace

Author: Leslie Woodcock Tentler

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2018-02-05

Total Pages: 667

ISBN-13: 0814343996

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Seasons of Grace is a history of the Catholic Church and community in southern lower Michigan from the 1830s through the 1950s. Seasons of Grace is a history of the Catholic Church and community in southern lower Michigan from the 1830s through the 1950s. More than a chronicle of clerical successions and institutional expansion, the book also examines those social and cultural influences that affected the development of the Catholic community. To document the course of institutional growth in the diocese, Tentler devotes a portion of the book to tracing the evolution of administrative structures at the Chancery and the founding of parishes, parochial schools, and social welfare organizations. Substantial attention is also given to the social history of the Catholic community, reflected in changes in religious practice, parish life and governance, and the role of women in church organizations and in devotional activities. Tentler also discusses the issue of Catholics in state and local politics and Catholic practice with regard to abortion, contraception, and intermarriage.

Crowley's
Crowley's

Author: Bruce Allen Kopytek

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-11-30

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1625857586

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Operating in the shadow of the enormous J.L. Hudson Co., Crowley's earned Detroit's trade with fine merchandise and good service, all in an atmosphere that made it the Motor City's "friendly" department store. Generations of customers still hold Crowley's close in their memories, fondly recalling the store's ancient wooden escalators, fashionable merchandise and special events like "Breakfast with Santa." Wander back in time with historian Bruce Allen Kopytek through the venerable old store and its suburban branches to discover all the things that made Crowley's such a special retail destination.

Yamasaki in Detroit
Yamasaki in Detroit

Author: John Gallagher

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2015-09-01

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0814341209

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Explores the life, creative drive, and notable projects of modernist architect Minoru Yamasaki. Although his best-known project was the World Trade Center in New York City, Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) worked to create moments of surprise, serenity, and delight in distinctive buildings around the world. In his adopted home of Detroit, where he lived and worked for the last half of his life, Yamasaki produced many important designs that range from public buildings to offices and private residences. In Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, author John Gallagher presents both a biography of Yamasaki—or Yama as he was known—and an examination of his working practices, with an emphasis on the architect's search for a style that would express his artistic goals. Gallagher explores Yamasaki's drive to craft tranquil spaces amid bustling cities while other modernists favored "glass box" designs. He connects Yamasaki's design philosophy to tumultuous personal experiences, including the architect's efforts to overcome poverty, racial discrimination, and his own inner demons. Yamasaki in Detroit surveys select projects spanning from the late 1940s to the end of Yamasaki's life, revealing the unique gardens, pools, plazas, skylight atriums, and other oases of respite in these buildings. Gallagher includes prominent works like the Michigan Consolidated Gas Building in downtown Detroit, Temple Beth-El in Bloomfield Township, and landmark buildings on the Wayne State University and College for Creative Studies campuses, as well as smaller medical clinics, office buildings, and private homes (including Yamasaki's own residence). Gallagher consults Yamasaki's own autobiographical writings, architects who worked with Yamasaki in his firm, and photography from several historic archives to give a full picture of the architect's work and motivations. Both knowledgeable fans of modernist architecture and general readers will enjoy Yamasaki in Detroit. Wayne State University Press gratefully acknowledges the organizations that generously supported the publication of this book: Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Yamasaki, Inc. and The Office of the Vice President of Research (OVPR) of Wayne State University.