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Building, Auburn Hills vicinity, since 1964

Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station

Still standing, photographed 2019

Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station (1969),designed by Gunnar Birkerts, 2011 Photo: Jessicapuff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1964
Style
Modern
Standing
62 years

Designed by Gunnar Birkerts

The Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station has stood on Bald Mountain Recreation Area Entrance Drive (Orion Township in Auburn Hills vicinity since 1964, 62 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station

Orion Township, Michigan, 2019 Photo: Orion Township, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
For more information about this, see the observation page at Mushroom Observer, 2017 Photo: This image was created by user Huafang at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
For more information about this, see the observation page at Mushroom Observer, 2016 Photo: This image was created by user Huafang at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here., CC BY-SA 3.0, 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 Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station opened in 1964, as the suburbs grew into cities of their own.

Gunnar Birkerts drew the plans, working in Modern.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 2013.

Next time you are nearby, stop at Bald Mountain Recreation Area Entrance Drive (Orion Township, Michigan) and look up.

Bald Mountain State Recreation Area is a 4,637-acre (1,877 ha) state park located near Lake Orion, Michigan off M-24. It consists of some of the most rugged terrain in southeastern Michigan. The recreation area is composed of a North Unit and a South Unit, which are not contiguous.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1964 Built Designed by Gunnar Birkerts
  2. 2013 Listed on the National Register September 3, 2013
  3. 2026 Today 62 years and still standing

Where it is

Bald Mountain Recreation Area Entrance Drive (Orion Township, Michigan), Auburn Hills vicinity

On this map

  1. Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station This place

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Gunnar Birkerts
Photo: University of Michigan A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Gunnar Birkerts

Latvian-American architect, 1925 to 2017. Designed 1300 Lafayette East Cooperative (1964) and 2 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Gunnar Birkerts

Photo credits

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

  1. Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact Station (1969),designed by Gunnar Birkerts, 2011 Photo: Jessicapuff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Orion Township, Michigan, 2019 Photo: Orion Township, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. For more information about this, see the observation page at Mushroom Observer, 2017 Photo: This image was created by user Huafang at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. For more information about this, see the observation page at Mushroom Observer, 2016 Photo: This image was created by user Huafang at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. For more information about this, see the observation page at Mushroom Observer, 2016 Photo: This image was created by user Huafang at Mushroom Observer, a source for mycological images.You can contact this user here., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Bear fountain at the Detroit Zoo. June 2007 Photo: MJCdetroit 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.