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Building, Wayne State, since 1921

Detroit Public Library

Still standing, photographed 2014

Public Library, Detroit, Mich. Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
Opened
1921
Standing
105 years

Designed by Cass Gilbert

The Detroit Public Library has stood on Woodward Ave. in Wayne State since 1921, 105 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Detroit Public Library

[Detroit Public Library murals, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
Scope and content: Photographer: Mayor's Office, Detroit, 1917 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Detroit Public Library Divie B Duffield Branch, Detroit, Michigan, 2014 Photo: Darren56brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing and open

  • Electrical permit Add to ELE2024-01978 Source: City and county building permits
  • Electrical permit Install 5 new light poles Source: City and county building permits

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1921, during the boom years when the auto industry turned Detroit into one of the fastest growing cities in America, the Detroit Public Library opened in Wayne State.

Cass Gilbert drew the plans.

It is still open, and still part of daily life in the city.

Next time you are nearby, stop at 5201 Woodward Ave and look up.

Timeline

  1. 1921 Built Designed by Cass Gilbert
  2. 2025 Electrical permit August 11, 2025
  3. 2026 Electrical permit September 17, 2026
  4. 2026 Today 105 years and still standing

Where it is

5201 Woodward Ave.

On this map

  1. Detroit Public Library This place
  2. Detroit Public Library Main Branch 80 ft
  3. Cultural Center Historic District 380 ft
  4. Williams C. Rands House 400 ft
  5. Maccabees Building 510 ft
  6. Temple of the Maccabees 520 ft
  7. Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex 0.1 mi
  8. Helen L. DeRoy Auditorium 0.1 mi
  9. Samuel L. Smith House 0.1 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Cass Gilbert
Photo: Robert Bolling Brandegee, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Cass Gilbert

American architect, 1859 to 1934. Sculpted the James Scott Memorial Fountain (1925) and 2 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Cass Gilbert

More from Detroit in the 1920s

Around the block

It is in Wayne State. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. Public Library, Detroit, Mich. Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
  2. [Detroit Public Library murals, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
  3. Scope and content: Photographer: Mayor's Office, Detroit, 1917 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Detroit Public Library Divie B Duffield Branch, Detroit, Michigan, 2014 Photo: Darren56brown, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Detroit Public Library feature article 1924 Photo: Newspapers.com, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Annis Fur Company and Detroit Public Library, 1917 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  7. "Nine overcoated and hatted men in framed building; center man holds cornerstone, 1917 Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  8. Automotive Industry (mural, Detroit Public Library) SAAM-1968.141 1, 1940 Photo: Marvin Beerbohm, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.