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Hotel, Pingree Park, since 1923

Whittier Hotel

Standing, closed

Whittier Hotel Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1923
Style
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals
Standing
103 years

Designed by Charles N. Agree

The Whittier Hotel has stood on Burns St. in Pingree Park since 1923, 103 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Whittier Hotel

Whittier Hotel Wing Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Whittier Hotel Detroit Photo: Andrew Jameson, 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

The Whittier Hotel opened in 1923, during the boom years when the auto industry turned Detroit into one of the fastest growing cities in America.

Charles N. Agree drew the plans, working in Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1985.

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

Next time you are nearby, stop at 450 Burns St and look up.

The Whittier (also known as the Whittier Apartments) is a partially renovated high rise residential complex and former hotel located at 415 Burns Drive in Detroit, Michigan, on the Detroit River. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1923 Built Designed by Charles N. Agree
  2. 1985 Listed on the National Register October 9, 1985
  3. 2001 Closed
  4. 2026 Today Standing, closed

Where it is

450 Burns St.

On this map

  1. Whittier Hotel This place
  2. John J. Petz House 440 ft
  3. Caspar Hoffman House 0.1 mi
  4. Jacob Schaeffer House 0.1 mi
  5. Henry T. Ewald House 0.1 mi
  6. William St. John House 0.1 mi
  7. George A. Krentler House 0.1 mi
  8. Bernard G. Koether House 0.2 mi
  9. Rudolph J. Hirt House 0.2 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Pilgrim and Puritan Apartment Complex, by Charles N. Agree Pilgrim and Puritan Apartment Complex, by Charles N. Agree. Photo: Jermaine Rivers, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Charles N. Agree

Architect, 1897 to 1982. Designed the Whittier Hotel (1923) and 12 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Charles N. Agree

More from Detroit in the 1920s

Around the block

It is in Pingree 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. Whittier Hotel Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Whittier Hotel Wing Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Whittier Hotel Detroit Photo: Andrew Jameson, 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.