Historic Detroit

Every building in Detroit has a story — we're here to share it

Cary Building

The Cary Building was designed by architect Richard Raseman and constructed for real-estate investor Frank Cary in 1906, at the start of the area’s transformation from residences to stores specializing in womenswear.

Individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983, The Cary Building is a buff brick and light colored terra-cotta trimmed, five-story commercial/office building with a reinforced concrete frame. Extending 112 feet along Gratiot Avenue and thirty-four feet along Broadway, the building displays broad, round, segmental-arched and square-headed window openings in its 2nd through 4th story portion and paired squareheaded windows in the top floor. In the 4th floor a small ionic column separates the windows in each window pain in the Broadway façade and each end window pair on the Gratiot façade. The windows in the 2nd through 4th floor center bays on the Gratiot side are set into segmental-arched head recesses, while the 3rd story windows on the Broadway façade and ends of the Gratiot façade are arched. The recesses and arched windows all display boldly projecting keystone devices. A projecting main cornice of simple design has been removed.