Wirt C. Rowland

Wirt C. Rowland
Born	December 1, 1887(1887-12-01) Clinton, Michigan
Died	November 30, 1946(1946-11-30) (aged 58) Detroit, Michigan
Nationality	American
Work
Practice	Smith Hinchman & Grylls Head Designer (1922-30)
Buildings	Bankers Trust Building (1925) Buhl Building (1925) Penobscot Building (1928) Guardian Building (1929)

Wirt Clinton Rowland (December 1, 1887 - November 30, 1946) was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan.

Biography

See also: Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

The Guardian Building in Detroit, with its lavish interior.

Rowland was born and raised in Clinton, Michigan. In 1901, he landed a job as an office boy for the Detroit firm of Rogers and MacFarlane, quickly moving on to the prestigious George D. Mason firm. In 1909, he joined the office of Albert Kahn, who had also apprenticed under Mason. In 1910, with the encouragement of both Mason and Kahn, Rowland attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge, for a year.

The combination of Rowland's natural design talent, Harvard education, and Detroit's healthy economy positioned him to make major contributions to the city's architecture. Rowland is a case study in design attribution. In 1911, in the office of Kahn, he and Ernest Wilby are said have been primarily responsible for the Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan. Through 1915 Rowland worked for the local firm of Malcomson & Higginbotham. He then returned to Kahn's office, contributing to the firm's classic projects, namely the Hatcher Graduate Library at the University of Michigan, the Detroit News Building, the First National Bank Building(1922), and the General Motors Building (1922) renamed Cadillac Place.

Rowland's career peaked as Head Designer (1922–1930) of Smith Hinchman & Grylls (SmithGroup). There, he designed a dozen major structures in downtown Detroit; among these, are a number of the city's most accomplished and evocative buildings. To a large extent, Rowland helped define Detroit's architectural genre. Of the Guardian building Rowland said, We no longer live in a leisurely age, . . What we see we must see quickly in passing, and the impression must be immediate, strong, and complete. Color has this vital power. For the Guardian Building, he had assembled a multitude of artisans, mosaicists, sculptors, painters, and tile manufacturers including Corrado Parducci, muralist Ezra Winter, and tile from the Rookwood and Pewabic pottery companies. He thus recreated the architectural synthesis of a medieval cathedral. Hence, Rowland had reached a climax, when his Union Trust/Guardian Building became known as the Cathedral of Finance.

The Guardian Building opened in 1930. With the onset of the Great Depression, Rowland was laid off from Smith Hinchman & Grylls so formed his own office where his work decreased to a small number of churches, schools, and construction projects. Late in life, he returned to a purer, Gothic idiom for his last few projects, notably preliminary sketches for the Kirk in the Hills. The church was built after the war to a design by George D. Mason & Co., Rowland having died in 1946. He was a member of the Chandler Park Partnership, a group of nineteen architects and engineers that designed Parkside housing project (1935–38) in Detroit.During World War II, the Guardian Building would serve as headquarters for war time production when Detroit was called, the Arsenal of Democracy.

Designs for Smith Hinchman & Grylls

• Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church (1925), Detroit, Michigan
• Bankers Trust Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
• Buhl Building (1925), Detroit, Michigan
• Grand Rapids Trust Building (1926), Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Michigan Bell Building (1927), Detroit, Michigan
• Penobscot Building (1928) Detroit, Michigan
• Union Trust/Guardian Building (1929), Detroit, Michigan

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  Interior; image from Historic American Buildings Survey- HABS Library of Congress archives

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  Guardian Building flying the American Flag over the Detroit Financial District.

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  Buhl Building, in the shadow of the Penobscot Building

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  Wirt Rowland
  by Corrado Parducci

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  Penboscot Building Indian by Corrado Parducci

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  Looking up from the Penobscot Building's entrance arch

References and further reading

• Ferry, W. Hawkins (1968). The Buildings of Detroit: A History. Wayne State University Press.
• Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3. 
• Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4. 
• Sharoff, Robert (2005). American City: Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3270-6. 
• Savage, Rebecca Binno and Greg Kowalski (2004). Art Deco in Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3228-2. 
• Sobocinski, Melanie Grunow (2005). Detroit and Rome: building on the past. Regents of the University of Michigan. ISBN 0933691092. 
• Tottis, James W. (2008). The Guardian Building: Cathedral of Finance. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814333853. 
• Tutag, Nola Huse with Lucy Hamilton (1988). Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1875-4. 

External links

• Wirt Clinton Rowland from the Historical Society of Clinton
• Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church's Architectural Elements