Lost building, Detroit, 1913 to 1977
Board of Commerce Building
Demolished in 1977
- Opened
- 1913
- Style
- Italian Renaissance
- Torn down
- 1977
Designed by Donaldson & Meier
The Board of Commerce Building stood in Detroit from 1913 until 1977. Here is what it was, who made it and where to find the spot today.
Then and now
What stands there now
Today
A surface parking lot
Mapped as 231 West Lafayette Lot
Detroit's Board of Commerce Building, designed by Donaldson & Meier, stood on this spot for 64 years. It came down 49 years ago. Today the spot is a surface parking lot, mapped as 231 West Lafayette Lot.
- 1913 Opens Board of Commerce Building
- 1975 Closes Board of Commerce Building
- 1977 Comes down Board of Commerce Building
- 2026 Today Surface parking lot
How we know what stands there
- OpenStreetMap 231 West Lafayette Lot, surface parking lot at the map point
- County parcel records PARKING LOT-PAVED
Checked October 25, 2026. We never guess: a site no source speaks for shows no answer.
What is there now
A surface parking lot
- Today Mapped as 231 West Lafayette Lot Source: OpenStreetMap and County parcel records
- Board of Commerce Building came down Source: Historic Detroit
We checked Wikidata, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Rebuild Detroit's landmark records and the county parcel records on October 25, 2026.
The story
The Board of Commerce Building went up in 1913, in the years Detroit became the Motor City and built like it meant to stay on top.
Credit the design to Donaldson & Meier, working in Italian Renaissance.
It is gone now, demolished in 1977, and the map pin below marks where it stood.
Timeline
- 1913 Built Designed by Donaldson & Meier
- 1975 Closed
- 1977 Demolished
- 2026 Today 49 years since it came down
Where it is
300 W. Lafayette Blvd.
On this map
- 1 Board of Commerce Building This place
- 2 Cass Theatre 100 ft
- 3 Owen Building 100 ft
- 4 Free Press Building 210 ft
- 5 Chinese Pavilion Cafe 290 ft
- 6 Lafayette Building 300 ft
- 7 Weil and Company--Gabriel Richard Building 310 ft
- 8 Gabriel Richard Building 320 ft
- 9 American Legion Hall 330 ft
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
Who made it
Architect
Donaldson & MeierAmerican architectural firm, founded 1882. Designed the Penobscot Building (1928) and 58 more in Metro Detroit
Also by Donaldson & Meier
More from Detroit in the 1910s
-
![Capitol Park Building, [Griswold Street from Capitol Park, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4329-2213-thumb-3f981d9a17.jpg)
Capitol Park Building
Building, built 1913, by Leonard B. Willeke
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
![Edelweiss Cafe, [Edelweiss Cafe, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4440-2281-thumb-050a05b82b.jpg)
Edelweiss Cafe
Building, built 1913, Dutch Colonial, by Mildner & Eisen, demolished 1949
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
![Broadway Market, [Edw. Neumann, Broadway Market, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4310-2194-thumb-42e52f2f8b.jpg)
Broadway Market
Building, built 1912, Beaux Arts, by Harry C. Stevens, demolished 1967
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
Detroit Waldorf School
School, built 1914, by Albert Kahn
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Cathedral Church of St. Paul
House of worship, built 1911, Neo-Gothic, by Ralph Adams Cram
Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
David Whitney Building
Hotel, built 1915, Beaux Arts, by Graham, Burnham & Co.
Photo: St8fan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Around the block
- Cass Theatre Theater, built 1927, Italian Renaissance, by John Donaldson, demolished 1977 100 ft
- Owen Building Building, built 1907, by Albert Kahn, demolished 1957 100 ft
-
Free Press Building
Building, built 1925, Art Deco, by Albert Kahn
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
210 ft
- Chinese Pavilion Cafe Building, built 1892, by Spier & Rohns, demolished 1957 290 ft
- Lafayette Building Building, built 1925, Italian Renaissance, by C. Howard Crane, demolished 2009 300 ft
-
Weil and Company--Gabriel Richard Building
Building, Neoclassical, by Marshall & Fox
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
310 ft
- Gabriel Richard Building Building, built 1915, Chicago, by Marshall & Fox 320 ft
- American Legion Hall Building, built 1917, by Van Leyen & Schilling, demolished 1964 330 ft
Sources
Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.