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Monument, Waterworks Park, since 1894

Hurlbut Memorial Gate

Photographed standing in 2008

Hurlbut Memorial Gate Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dedicated
1894
Style
Beaux Arts
Standing
132 years

Designed by Gustave Mueller and Herman A. Brede

Hurlbut Memorial Gate has stood on Cadillac Boulevard and East Jefferson Avenue in Waterworks Park since 1894, 132 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Hurlbut Memorial Gate

The Hurlbut Memorial Gate was built in 1894 as an entrance to Detroit's Water Works Park, which functioned as both a... Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Chauncey Hurlbut, 1922 Photo: Clarence M Burton, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
ChaunceyHurlbetgatefrom jeffersonAve Detroit, 2008 Photo: Mikerussell at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing, closed

  • Closed Source: Historic Detroit

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

In 1894, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone, Hurlbut Memorial Gate was dedicated in Waterworks Park.

Gustave Mueller and Herman A. Brede drew the plans, working in Beaux Arts.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1975.

Its doors are closed for now, but the building still stands.

Next time you are nearby, stop at Cadillac Boulevard and East Jefferson Avenue and look up.

Hurlbut Memorial Gate is a monumental structure, 132 ft (40 m) long, 50 ft (15 m) high, and 40 ft (12 m) in depth, at the entry way to Water Works Park located at East Jefferson Avenue and Cadillac Boulevard in a historic area of Detroit, Michigan. It is named after Chauncey (sometimes "Chauncy") Hurlbut, a 19th-century Detroit grocer, president of the Board of Water Commissioners, and philanthropist.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1894 Dedicated Designed by Gustave Mueller and Herman A. Brede
  2. 1975 Listed on the National Register March 27, 1975
  3. 2026 Today Standing, closed

Where it is

Cadillac Boulevard and East Jefferson Avenue

On this map

  1. Hurlbut Memorial Gate This place
  2. Pewabic Pottery 460 ft
  3. The Shepherd 0.2 mi
  4. Pilgrim and Puritan Apartment Complex 0.2 mi
  5. COGIC Brooks Cathedral Center 0.2 mi
  6. Chateau Frontenac 0.2 mi
  7. Marvin Stanton Home 0.2 mi
  8. Hannan Memorial YMCA 0.2 mi
  9. Kean Apartments 0.3 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Sculptor

Gustave Mueller

Architect. Sculpted Hurlbut Memorial Gate (1894) and 2 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Gustave Mueller

Sculptor

Herman A. Brede

Architect. Sculpted Hurlbut Memorial Gate (1894)

More from Detroit in the 1890s

Around the block

It is in Waterworks Park. 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. Hurlbut Memorial Gate Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. The Hurlbut Memorial Gate was built in 1894 as an entrance to Detroit's Water Works Park, which functioned as both a... Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Chauncey Hurlbut, 1922 Photo: Clarence M Burton, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. ChaunceyHurlbetgatefrom jeffersonAve Detroit, 2008 Photo: Mikerussell at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.