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Building, Islandview, since 1899

Frederick Stearns Building

Still standing, photographed 2017

Frederick Stearns and Co. laboratory from southeast, Detroit, Mich, 1910 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1899
Standing
127 years

Designed by Albert Kahn and William Buck Stratton

The Frederick Stearns Building has stood on E. Jefferson Ave. in Islandview since 1899, 127 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Frederick Stearns Building

Frederick Stearns Building in Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

The Frederick Stearns Building opened in 1899, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone.

Credit the design to Albert Kahn and William Buck Stratton.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1980.

Next time you are nearby, stop at 6533 E. Jefferson Ave and look up.

The Frederick Stearns Building is a manufacturing plant located at 6533 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981. It has been converted to condominiums.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1899 Built Designed by Albert Kahn and William Buck Stratton
  2. 1980 Listed on the National Register October 14, 1980
  3. 2026 Today 127 years and still standing

Where it is

6533 E. Jefferson Ave.

On this map

  1. Frederick Stearns Building This place
  2. Lofts at Rivertown 70 ft
  3. Uniroyal 0.1 mi
  4. Electric Park 0.2 mi
  5. United States Immigration Station 0.3 mi
  6. Douglas MacArthur Bridge 0.3 mi
  7. Marine Hospital 0.3 mi
  8. Riverview Park 0.3 mi
  9. Belle Isle Bridge (old) 0.4 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Albert Kahn
Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Albert Kahn

American architect, 1869 to 1942. Designed the General Motors Building (1922) and 114 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Albert Kahn

Pewabic Pottery, by William Buck Stratton Pewabic Pottery, by William Buck Stratton. Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

William Buck Stratton

American Architect, 1865 to 1938. Designed Pewabic Pottery (1907) and 7 more in Metro Detroit

Also by William Buck Stratton

More from Detroit in the 1890s

Around the block

It is in Islandview. 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. Frederick Stearns and Co. laboratory from southeast, Detroit, Mich, 1910 Photo: Detroit Publishing Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Frederick Stearns Building in Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. 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

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.