Standing on the Western Edge of Campus Matrius Park a tall foreboding structure hovers above a group of smaller submissive storefronts wedged between Michigan & Lafayette avenues. The crooked “V” shaped body of the dilapidated Lafayette building, sticking out like a sore thumb, is one of the last of old Detroit’s ruins left in this corner of Downtown. Across the street the Book Cadillac Hotel stands newly renovated and restored to its original glory. The Cadillac’s detail was painstakingly preserved by dedicated historical preservationists who refinished its historic stone and metalwork. Behind the Lafayette sits a new, modern Holiday Inn whose guests staying on the east side of the building have an unobstructed view of the derelict Lafayette property. Also around the vicinity are newly constructed offices as well as historic buildings like The Dime, Stott, Buhl and Penobscot buildings. These have always been the premier office buildings in Detroit and only illustrate the contrast between The Lafayette and its’ surroundings.

The Lafayette was constructed in 1923 and opened in 1924. It was once billed as Michigan’s finest office building. The commission of architect C. Howard Crane was a bit unusual for an office building. Regarded as one of the foremost leading designers of neo-classic renaissance theaters Crane also designed other highly notable Detroit buildings including the FOX & Fillmore Theaters, the Palms Hotel and, perhaps his most magnificent piece of work, the United Artist Theater. This world-renowned designer was responsible for building some of our most celebrated pieces of theatrical architecture. In his life he built some two hundred and fifty theaters and various other buildings across the country, all of which conveyed the stature and elegance of royalty. Though one wouldn’t be able to tell today, the Lafayette was no different; its accents and attention to details once set it far apart from any other office building operating in Detroit.

As decedent and opulent as the Lafayette was, by the 1930's the building was already starting to suffer due to poor long-term direction. The decision was made to sell the building to Bohn Aluminum & Brass Co. in 1932, after only eight years in business. To settle tax problems and law suits filed by shareholders Bohn, who had purchased a 99-year lease on the property, was forced to buy the building and the land outright from a company know at the time as the Michigan & Shelby Land Company. For the next 20 years the building functioned as a mixed-use facility. The upper floors of the building were leased by the State of Michigan to serve as courts and other court related administrative offices.

During Detroit’s decline in the 1980’s the future of the Lafayette was getting grim. Though it always remained the offices for the Michigan State Supreme Courts the building was running into financial troubles. By 1985 the buildings owners consulted architects about possibly covering its existing terra cotta with a steel and glass exo-structure. Thankfully this project never materialized and was abandoned early into the process. In 1988 the building was once again sold to new owners. Soon after the Michigan State Supreme Court elected to move to a new modern facility located at Madison & Brush. In November that year, the remaining courts and administration vacated the building leaving just the retail business. In 1991 the owners notified tenants that they would have less than 100 hours to pack up and move out of the building. The electricity bill, which was well over $30,000, had gone unpaid for far too long and the lights would soon be shut off.

During the July forth weekend that year I was out with good friends I don't often see. After attending an all night music event downtown, we decided to walk around and enjoy the calmness and serenity that is Detroit at 4am. After an hour of aimlessly wandering around, the eerie stillness gave way to the sounds of business, people and busses getting back to work after a long holiday weekend. Heading back to my place we crossed Lafayette Boulevard headed towards Woodward Avenue. As we came around the corner of the Lafayette building we could see the front door was wide open. The open doorway reeked of old decaying matter, asbestoses, and mold. This is most certainly a building that warranted the use of a respirator mask. Unfortunately the best we had was our shirts and an LED flashlight; not the best scenario for poking around an 85 year-old building at 5:30 in morning. Still, it was clear that this wasn’t the time to be concerned with small matters such as these because this was the first chance I had to get inside and explore this historical museum of decay.

On one of the judges’ desks inside the courtroom sat a copy of Time Magazine from September 1991. The cover pictorial was that of an American Soldier using a rocket launcher in what looked to be some far away desert hell. The title “Into Kuwait!” was poignant. Just months earlier, President Bush. decided we needed to go back to war with in the Middle-East. The image of this magazine is by far the image that stands out most to me when I think back on my visits to the Lafayette. It even becomes more ironic and sad if you take into account the sub-headline: “Tightening the noose on Saddam”. It wasn’t more than two years later that prophetic headline would ring true. In other rooms in the Lafayette we found stacks of old legal records, and stenographer ticker tape, rubber banded together and hand labeled. Strewn about in large piles it had been pulled from the shelves where it was neatly being stored.

Art deco and classic renaissance were oddly juxtaposed with the cheap, tacky styles of the 1970’s. In some rooms on the upper floors it appeared that someone had taken the time to scavenge the remains of the junk left behind and assemble mini shrines to the ruins of the Lafayette. It also appeared that various people had been living in the building at some time but it did not appear to be very recent so we didn’t worry too much. More concerning was the deteriorating condition of the building as we reached the top. It was not nearly as dangerous as the Fort Shelby’s stairs had been but it was badly weathered and damaged much the same. On the top floor the terra cotta brick had fallen away from the rest of the structure. Fortunately it landed in the courtyard on the forth floor and not on the street below. Pigeons appeared to have infested these upper floors. In and out they flew, building nest on the ledges of the fleur de lis stonework atop of the building. Toward the very top the stairs started to fill with familiar debris much like that of the Fort Shelby’s staircase. Once we made our way up to the roof we could see the trees that sprouted up from the gravel & tar roof. A small grove of tall and short grasses lined the areas where water collected in pools by the edge of the building roof. A patch of three-leaf clovers was growing right out from the side of the building where a window once was. With the absence of man, its quite difficult not to be struck by the way nature is reclaiming the Lafayette building.

Perhaps it’s the intent of city council to create the image that they actually can get something done. Let’s face it; their scandals won't cover themselves up. Only the demolishing of unique, one of a kind buildings will fix everything for them come this November. The Lafayette will become just like so many other historic building such as the Tuller, The Madison-Lenox and The Statler Hotel; a depressing pile of concrete destined for the gravel yard. Its empty footprint will only serve as a constant reminder of the ignorance and shortsightedness of our governing leaders. Powerless in this cyclone of Detroit scandal and politics I wonder if the day will come when this city elects a leader of strength and intelligence with the savvy to recognize what it is that we have. Someone who has the sight to see beyond their own term in office and do the right things to help Detroit. Above all, that someone needs to have the vision to take this city somewhere that seems impossible to get to; not unlike sending a man to the moon.