Color postcard of The Fisher Building night in Detroit, Mich, circa 1930.

“My First Broadway Musical”

Around 1967, my mother took me to my first Broadway musical at the Fisher Theatre, which is located in the Fisher Building. Up to that point, what I knew about this Detroit landmark involved WJR and the popular J.P. McCarthy, who broadcasted from the “golden tower of the Fisher Building.” The musical was Jerry Herman’s Mame. I think it starred Celeste Holm. I could be wrong (I am not good at keeping playbills.), but I do remember the experience. It began my life-long love of live theater and art deco buildings.

The Fisher Brothers

The “Fisher” refers to the seven Fisher Brothers, the money behind the building. The brothers, natives of Ohio, founded the Fisher Body Company in 1908. The company was responsible for the development and mass production of auto bodies for car manufacturers. Within twenty years, they had sold their company to General Motors. Funds from that sale were used to build a magnificent office and retail complex in Detroit. Initially, the brothers tried to acquire parcels of land on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. To gain a sufficient amount of property to realize their vision, however, they had to look north of downtown. They chose a site on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue, across from the General Motors Building.

Architecture

Albert Kahn and Associates, with Joseph Nathaniel French as the chief architect, designed the ornate skyscraper. When it was completed, the Fisher Building was considered Kahn’s most significant non-industrial building and was honored by the New York Architectural League and the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The building is made of limestone, granite and marble, and features a twenty-eight-story art deco tower. The interior is bisected by a forty-four foot high barrel-vaulted arcade and is decorated with bronze, gold leaf and marble.

The Fisher Building exhibits the work of several noted artists. In particular, Kahn looked to Geza Maroti, an artist from Budapest working at the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills. Maroti used stylized patterns and brilliant colors indicative of the Magyar tradition. The New York firms of Ricci and Zari, and Anthony DiLorenzo designed and executed much of the plasterwork, stone carving and ornamental bronze work.

History

The Fisher Theatre, an integral part of the Fisher Building, opened as a movie and vaudeville house in the fall of 1928. Seating capacity: 3,500 seats. The original lobby was designed by the Chicago firm of Graven and Mayger using the architecture and decoration of pre-historic Central America as its motif. It featured banana trees, a goldfish pond and macaws that patrons could feed by hand. In 1961, the Fisher Theatre was renovated and scaled back to 2,089 seats. This allowed for more comfortable seating. The décor was changed to emphasize the elegance of marble, crystal, Indian and rosewood paneling, and bronze. The money behind this renovation: The Fisher Brothers. The Fisher Building was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 29, 1989.

LINKS:

Brochure of the Fisher Building dating 1928.

Guide to the Albert Kahn papers available at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

Sources:

The Buildings of Detroit by W. Hawks Ferry. Wayne State University Press, 1968: pp, 325-326; 333-335.

“Fisher Building” (A National Park Service Web Page)

“Broadway in Detroit: Fisher Theatre”

“The Most Beautiful Building in the World” by Kay Houston and Linda Culpepper. Detroit News March 20, 2001