Lost building, Detroit, 1893 to 1929
Summerfield & Hecht
Demolished in 1929
- Opened
- 1893
- Style
- Italianate
- Torn down
- 1929
Designed by Almon C. Varney
Summerfield & Hecht stood in Detroit from 1893 until 1929. Here is what it was, who made it and where to find the spot today.
Then and now
What stands there now
Today
A vacant lot
Detroit's Summerfield & Hecht, designed by Almon C. Varney, stood on this spot for 36 years. It came down 97 years ago. Today the spot is a vacant lot.
- 1893 Opens Summerfield & Hecht
- 1929 Comes down Summerfield & Hecht
- 2026 Today Vacant lot
How we know what stands there
- County parcel records VACANT COMMERCIAL
Checked October 25, 2026. We never guess: a site no source speaks for shows no answer.
What is there now
A vacant lot
- Today Source: County parcel records
- Summerfield & Hecht came down Source: Historic Detroit
We checked Wikidata, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Rebuild Detroit's landmark records and the county parcel records on October 25, 2026.
The story
Summerfield & Hecht went up in 1893, in Detroit's Gilded Age, when stove works, shipyards and railroads made the city's first fortunes.
Credit the design to Almon C. Varney, in the Italianate style.
It is gone now, demolished in 1929, and the map pin below marks where it stood.
Timeline
- 1893 Built Designed by Almon C. Varney
- 1929 Demolished
- 2026 Today 97 years since it came down
Where it is
320 Michigan Ave.
On this map
- 1 Summerfield & Hecht This place
- 2 Gabriel Richard Building 110 ft
- 3 Weil and Company--Gabriel Richard Building 130 ft
- 4 Alexander Macomb Monument 200 ft
- 5 Chinese Pavilion Cafe 300 ft
- 6 Westin Book Cadillac Hotel 330 ft
- 7 Cadillac Hotel 370 ft
- 8 Book Tower 380 ft
- 9 St. Aloysius Catholic Church (old) 390 ft
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
Who made it
Jerome H. Remick and Company Building, by Almon C. Varney. Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Architect
Almon C. VarneyAmerican architect, 1849 to 1930. Designed the Jerome H. Remick and Company Building and 8 more in Metro Detroit
Also by Almon C. Varney
More from Detroit in the 1890s
-
![Belle Isle Pavilion, [Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4294-2180-thumb-512916ec9d.jpg)
Belle Isle Pavilion
Building, built 1893, by Spier & Rohns, demolished 1950
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
![Floral Clock at Water Works Park, Floral clock, Water [Works] Park, Detroit, Mich.](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4470-2305-thumb-1a3e4ef4e0.jpg)
Floral Clock at Water Works Park
Monument, built 1893
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
Coronado Apartments
Building, built 1894, Romanesque Revival, by William S. Joy
Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Dunbar Memorial Hospital
Monument, built 1892, Romanesque Revival
Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Detroit Club
Building, built 1891, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Wilson Eyre
Photo: Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
House of worship, built 1891, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Mason & Rice
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Around the block
- Gabriel Richard Building Building, built 1915, Chicago, by Marshall & Fox 110 ft
-
Weil and Company--Gabriel Richard Building
Building, Neoclassical, by Marshall & Fox
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
130 ft
- Alexander Macomb Monument Monument, built 1908, Classic Revival 200 ft
- Chinese Pavilion Cafe Building, built 1892, by Spier & Rohns, demolished 1957 300 ft
-
Westin Book Cadillac Hotel
Hotel, built 1924, Neo-Renaissance, by Louis Kamper
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
330 ft
-
![Cadillac Hotel, [Hotel Cadillac and Washington Boulevard, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4323-2196-thumb-ce55ea75dc.jpg)
Cadillac Hotel
Hotel, built 1888, Italian, by John Scott, demolished 1923
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
370 ft
-
Book Tower
Hotel, built 1917, Italian Renaissance, by Louis Kamper
Photo: Albert duce, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
380 ft
- St. Aloysius Catholic Church (old) House of worship, built 1861, Italian Renaissance, by Donaldson & Meier, demolished 1930 390 ft
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.