Building, Midtown, since 1936
Michigan Chronicle Building
Standing, closed
- Opened
- 1936
- Style
- Art Moderne
- Standing
- 90 years
The Michigan Chronicle Building has stood on Ledyard St. in Midtown since 1936, 90 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.
Michigan Chronicle Building today, from the street
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 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.
The story
In 1936, as Detroit pushed through the Depression, the Michigan Chronicle Building opened in Midtown.
It was built in the Art Moderne style, and it still reads that way from the sidewalk.
Its doors are closed for now, but the building still stands.
Go see it at 479 Ledyard St. Photos never get the scale right.
Timeline
- 1936 Built Art Moderne
- 2015 Closed
- 2026 Today Standing, closed
Where it is
479 Ledyard St.
On this map
- 1 Michigan Chronicle Building This place
- 2 Nuppenau House 470 ft
- 3 Cass Park Historic District 500 ft
- 4 Kresge Administration Building 0.1 mi
- 5 Masonic Temple 0.1 mi
- 6 Kresge, S. S., World Headquarters 0.1 mi
- 7 Lewis Cass Technical High School 0.2 mi
- 8 Standard Accident Insurance Co. Building 0.2 mi
- 9 Cass Tech High School (old) 0.2 mi
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
More from Detroit in the 1930s
-
Alger Theater
Theater, built 1935, Art Moderne
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Brewster-Douglass Projects
Building, built 1938, demolished 2013
Photo: Albert duce, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
River Terrace Apartments
Building, built 1939, Colonial Revival
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
United States Immigration Station
Building, built 1933, Colonial Revival, by James A. Wetmore
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Louis G. Redstone Residential Historic District
Historic district, built 1940, International Style
Photo: National Park Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Birwood Wall
Structure, built 1941
Photo: John Vachon, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Around the block
It is in Midtown. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.
- Nuppenau House Historic home, Stick 470 ft
-
Cass Park Historic District
Historic district
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
500 ft
- Kresge Administration Building Building, built 1930, Art Deco, by Albert Kahn 0.1 mi
-
Masonic Temple
House of worship, built 1926, Neo-Gothic, by George D. Mason
Photo: Carptrash at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.1 mi
-
Kresge, S. S., World Headquarters
Building, Art Deco, by Albert Kahn
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.1 mi
-
Lewis Cass Technical High School
School, built 1907, by Malcomson & Higginbotham, demolished
Photo: Albert duce, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.2 mi
- Standard Accident Insurance Co. Building Building, built 1920, Classical Revival, by Albert Kahn 0.2 mi
- Cass Tech High School (old) School, built 1922, Collegiate Gothic, by William E. Higginbotham, demolished 2011 0.2 mi
Photo credits
Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.
- Michigan Chronicle Building from the street today Photo: Street View, 2026
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.