Lost hotel, Detroit, 1868 to 1961
Griswold Hotel
Demolished in 1961
- Opened
- 1868
- Torn down
- 1961
The Griswold Hotel stood in Detroit from 1868 until 1961. Here is what it was, who made it and where to find the spot today.
What is there now
Demolished in 1961
We have not yet found a source that says what stands on the spot today. Last looked on October 25, 2026.
The story
The Griswold Hotel went up in 1868, in Detroit's Gilded Age, when stove works, shipyards and railroads made the city's first fortunes.
The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1980.
It is gone now, demolished in 1961, and the map pin below marks where it stood.
Timeline
- 1868 Built
- 1961 Closed
- 1961 Demolished
- 1980 Listed on the National Register June 9, 1980
- 2026 Today 65 years since it came down
Where it is
Griswold Street and Grand River Avenue
On this map
- 1 Griswold Hotel This place
- 2 Capitol Square Building 80 ft
- 3 Stevens Building 110 ft
- 4 Bowles Building 160 ft
- 5 Farwell Building 170 ft
- 6 Bennett Building 170 ft
- 7 Louis Kamper Apartments 260 ft
- 8 Chancery Building 260 ft
- 9 Washington Boulevard Historic District 290 ft
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
More from Detroit in the 1860s
-
Central United Methodist Church
House of worship, built 1867, Gothic Revival, by Gordon W. Lloyd
Photo: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
House of worship, built 1870, Late Gothic Revival, by Donaldson & Meier
Photo: Nheyob, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Soldiers and Sailors Monument
Monument, built 1872, Classic Revival
Photo: JJonahJackalope, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
St. John's-St. Luke's Evangelical Church
House of worship, built 1872, Late Victorian
Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Christ Church
House of worship, built 1863, Gothic Revival, by Gordon W. Lloyd
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Detroit Opera House (first) Theater, built 1869, French Renaissance, by Sheldon Smith & Son, demolished 1897
Around the block
- Capitol Square Building Building, built 1897, Classical Revival, by William C. Rohns 80 ft
- Stevens Building Building, built 1901, Neo-classicism, by Donaldson & Meier 110 ft
- Bowles Building Building, built 1887, Romanesque Revival, by Mason & Rice, demolished 1965 160 ft
-
Farwell Building
Building, built 1915, Chicago School, by Harrie W. Bonnah
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
170 ft
- Bennett Building Building, built 1895, by Bonnah & Chaffee 170 ft
- Louis Kamper Apartments Building, built 1926, Art Moderne, by Louis Kamper 260 ft
- Chancery Building Building, built 1924, Romanesque-Italian Renaissance, by Donaldson & Meier 260 ft
-
Washington Boulevard Historic District
Historic district
Photo: Mike Russell at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
290 ft
Photo credits
Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.
- Griswold Hotel [lobby, Detroit, Mich.] Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
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.