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Smith, Hinchman & Grylls

American architectural and engineering company, founded in 1853

Still at work, 173 years on

Penobscot Building, Detroit, 1928 Photo: WMrapids, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Designer of the Penobscot Building, the 565-foot tower that rose in Detroit in 1928. It is one of 69 works by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls on record across 2 counties, built from 1865 to 2000.

works on record in Metro Detroit
69
the Penobscot Building, the tallest here
565 feet
of work here, 1865 to 2000
135 years
towns and cities, Detroit most of all
4

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' skyline

The 28 best documented of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' 69 works on record, oldest at left. Heights are to scale where one is on record (7 of 28, tallest the Penobscot Building at 565 feet); the rest are drawn at one standard size.

The 7 best documented of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' 69 works on record, oldest at left. Heights are to scale where one is on record (4 of 7, tallest the Penobscot Building at 565 feet); the rest are drawn at one standard size.

Penobscot Building

1928, Detroit, 565 feet

Still standing, photographed 2025

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The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

Since 1853, Smith, Hinchman & Grylls has worked as an American architectural and engineering company. Wikidata counts about 1,500 people on its staff. Of everything Smith, Hinchman & Grylls designed here, the Penobscot Building leads the list, a tower in Detroit, finished in 1928. At 565 feet, it is the tallest Smith, Hinchman & Grylls work on record here.

Outside Metro Detroit, Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' work includes George Bush Center for Intelligence in Virginia (1961) and the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2014). Of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' 69 works here, 8 are gone, the Shubert-Lafayette Theatre in 1964 and the Recreation Building in 1964 among them. Today, 61 of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' works still stand.

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' Metro Detroit work on record runs from Pontiac Commercial Historic District in 1865 to Comerica Park in 2000, 135 years. The 1910s were Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' busiest decade here, with 28 works on record. Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' work spreads across Wayne County and Oakland County, in 4 towns.

In Detroit it reaches 21 neighborhoods, among them Indian Village, Midtown, and Arden Park. Wirt C. Rowland is credited beside Smith, Hinchman & Grylls on the Bankers Trust Company Building and the Buhl Building and 7 more. Albert Kahn is credited beside Smith, Hinchman & Grylls on the Parke-Davis and Company Pharmaceutical Company Plant and Hudson's Department Store and 1 more.

Homes were a calling card for Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, 19 of them on record, the Joseph R. McLaughlin House and the John F. Dodge House among them. Of the works on record, 9 are Art Deco, the style that runs through Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' work. Pontiac Commercial Historic District at 1-29 N. Saginaw St., 5-29 W. Lawrence St., and 10-18 W. Pike St is a good first stop for anyone tracing Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' buildings.

SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a wholly owned subsidiary.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Every Smith, Hinchman & Grylls work on record here

Built in
County
Today

69 works

Where their buildings stand

County

69 works on the map

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  • Standing
  • Demolished
  • Altered
  • Works close together

69 works on the map

Beyond Metro Detroit

Two notable works by Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in Virginia and Virginia Beach, Virginia, from 1961 to 2014, as Wikidata lists them.

Who Smith, Hinchman & Grylls worked with

Where the work stands

In the Detroit Ledger

Photo credits

All 29 photos on Smith, Hinchman & Grylls' page, each with its author, license and the original.

  1. Penobscot Building in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: WMrapids, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Pontiac Commercial Historic District, N. Saginaw Street, 2010 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. The Central United Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan (United States), 2025 Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Asylum, Pontiac MI, 1912 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Parke-Davis Plant in Detroit MI--building on the Detroit River Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Virginia Park Streetscape between Woodward and Second Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  7. The front exterior of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant at 461 Piquette Street, Detroit, Michigan, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  8. The front façade of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant at 461 Piquette Street, Detroit, Michigan, 2017 Photo: Jackdude101, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  9. This massive structure, then the largest department store building in the world, was still there when I visited in..., 1988 Photo: artistmac, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  10. Edson Moore and Company Building For Street Detroit This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the..., 2017 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  11. Formerly the Hilberry Theatre, the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center is yet another life for the storied venue, 2023 Photo: Saul Vielmetti, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  12. New part of the AT & T Building Detroit, Michigan. This office building also service as a hotel, 2008 Photo: Mikerussell at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  13. View of the Fisher Body plant in New Center, Detroit, 2009 Photo: Patrickklida, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  14. Buhl Building in Detroit, Michigan, 2007 Photo: I, Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  15. The Players, Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  16. Medaowbrook Hall at Meadow Brook Farms, located in Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, 2010 Photo: Wm. Chris Rowland, II, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  17. The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts in Detroit, Michigan (United States), 2015 Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  18. The Guardian Building in Detroit, Michigan, 2025 Photo: WMrapids, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  19. Front Art Deco facade, Denby High School. In Detroit, southeastern Michigan Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  20. One Woodward Avenue from Windsor, Ontario, 2025-07-30 Photo: Chris Woodrich, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  21. 1001 Woodward Ave. as viewed from Congress and Randolph Sts, 2021 Photo: Coreyfein01, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  22. American Center, Southfield, Mi, 2007 Photo: Dave Parker, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  23. The Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building in 2025 Photo: Gurubanks, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  24. Comerica Park, 2026 Photo: City of Detroit, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  25. Detroit Association of Women's Clubs from Brush St., Detroit, Michigan, 2016 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  26. The Michigan Bell Telephone Exchange Building in Detroit, Michigan, United States, is listed on the US National..., 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  27. The League of Catholic Women Building in Detroit, Michigan, United States, is listed on the US National Register of..., 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  28. George Bush Center for Intelligence Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  29. Brock Environmental Center Photo: Jwallace72, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

The facts on Smith, Hinchman & Grylls come from Historic Detroit, Wikidata, Wikipedia, and Photos; Rebuild Detroit wrote the story above from them, and each photo names its license.