Wyandotte’s Historic Arlington Hotel

Isaac Kremer/ August 28, 2005/ Writing/ 1 comments

Occasionally the march of history across decades and centuries is interrupted by moments whose impact is felt in all the years to the follow.

Such a moment was shared by 50 representatives of Detroit-area preservation organizations at the Masonic Temple in Detroit last Tuesday evening. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (www.nationaltrust.org) convened this meeting to discuss how Detroit’s preservationists could cooperate and form a coalition to advance the cause of historic preservation and economic development in our region.

Being an active participant in that meeting myself, later I reflected on the connections that Detroit and Wyandotte share.

Connected by a river, Wyandotte is the second oldest city in Wayne County behind Detroit. When the 4th mayor of Detroit established his estate here in 1818, he named it Wyandotte after the local Indian tribe, which then became the name of the village and later of the city that followed.

Detroit industrialists chose this same spot as location for the Eureka Iron Works in 1854, several years later established a shipbuilding works a few blocks to the south, and started various other commercial and industrial enterprises.

Theatrical companies would often stop in Wyandotte for a night on their way from Toledo to Detroit; for since Wyandotte was on the main rail line, it promised extra revenue with limited additional movement of people, scenery, or props.

It is no secret that Wyandotte, Detroit, and Michigan have seen some challenging times over the past several decades as well, though those who follow recent developments have seen some encouraging signs.

As Detroit continues to transform from an industrial powerhouse to a livable city in the 21st century, Wyandotte provides some cues on how its bigger and slightly older partner to the north might proceed.

Wyandotte, like Detroit, has been beset by demolitions and insensitive renovations that have taken away historic character and a sense of place.

Despite this, a surprising amount of the historic fabric remains intact. Historic homes, commercial buildings, beautiful churches and schools, and what is believed to be the first 2-screen theater in the country (and the largest theater south of Detroit) all remain in Wyandotte.

Wyandotte does offer a few value lessons on how not to treat historic buildings though – like the historic Arlington Hotel.

This building at the south-west corner of Oak and Biddle Ave. has presided over what was originally Wyandotte’s busiest intersection.

When operating as a hotel, band concerts entertained citizens on hot summer nights and guests stayed on the second and third floors. This was considered the leading “Class A” hotel in the city, with Captain John B. Ford and other prominent guests staying here.

In 1920 the building was leased to Frank Armstrong and used as a men’s clothing store for several decades, and today it is Armstrong’s Antiques & Collectibles.

The Oak St. façade remains largely intact today with brick segmental arched windows that have hoods above and sills below. The Biddle Ave. façade has severely been altered though, closing off the broad corner entrance of the building that once faced the intersection, and addition of a slip cover of enameled panels.

Hope remains for this building though. In the hands of a talented developer, architect, and preservationist, the panels could be removed to expose that portion of the original building that remains below. Then architectural features that are missing could be “reconstructed” using archival photographs to make the building again appear like it did in 1884.

Were Wyandotte to select a few projects to make a dramatic change to the appearance of downtown and to foster support for historic preservation – this would be it. And if successful here, this might serve as a model for similar efforts in Wyandotte and throughout our region.

Next week we will cast our gaze across Biddle Ave. towards the solid and classically-inspired 1893 First Commercial Bank building, today the home of Why Not Costumes.

As published in the Downriver Review.