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Building, Pilgrim Village, since 1929

Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse

Still standing, photographed 2017

Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse Detroit MI, 2009 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1929
Style
Art Deco
Standing
97 years

Designed by Field, Hinchman & Smith and Wirt C. Rowland

The Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse has stood on Oakman Boulevard in Pilgrim Village since 1929, 97 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse

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

  • Electrical permit Installation of EV Chargers and supporting electrical equipment Source: City and county building permits

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 Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse opened in 1929, in the years Detroit became the Motor City and built like it meant to stay on top.

The design came from Wirt C. Rowland and Field, Hinchman & Smith, working in Art Deco.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 2009.

Go see it at 882 Oakman Boulevard. Photos never get the scale right.

The Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse is a former commercial warehouse building located at 882 Oakman Boulevard (also numbered as 14300 Woodrow Wilson) in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. It is now known as the NSO Bell Building.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1929 Built Designed by Field, Hinchman & Smith and Wirt C. Rowland
  2. 2009 Listed on the National Register December 8, 2009
  3. 2011 Protected by the city Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse
  4. 2025 Electrical permit March 24, 2025
  5. 2026 Today 97 years and still standing

Where it is

882 Oakman Boulevard

On this map

  1. Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse This place
  2. NSO Bell Building 160 ft
  3. Highland Park General Hospital 0.7 mi
  4. Medbury's-Grove Lawn Subdivisions Historic District 0.8 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Field, Hinchman & Smith
Photo: Traveler100, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Field, Hinchman & Smith

Architectural firm. Designed the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant (1904) and 6 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Field, Hinchman & Smith

Wirt C. Rowland
Photo: Notorious4life (Uploads), CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Wirt C. Rowland

American architect, 1878 to 1946. Designed the Guardian Building (1929) and 11 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Wirt C. Rowland

More from Detroit in the 1920s

Around the block

It is in Pilgrim Village. 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. Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse Detroit MI, 2009 Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. 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.