Though Detroit is best known for its enormous auto factories, it also was once home to the world’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Founded in 1866, Parke-Davis & Company grew from a small Detroit drug manufacturer into the world's leading pharmaceutical company, making the city an international center for medical research long before the automobile industry dominated its economy. Organized as Duffield, Parke & Co. by Dr. Samuel P. Duffield and Hervey Parke, the company was renamed Parke, Davis & Co. in 1871. Shortly thereafter, Hervey Parke and George Davis established the company's headquarters along Detroit's east riverfront, where it developed a sprawling 14.5-acre research and manufacturing complex bounded by Jos. Campau, Wight Street, McDougall Street, and the Detroit River. The campus eventually grew to 26 buildings, constructed between 1891 and 1955 and designed by leading architectural firms including Donaldson & Meier, Albert Kahn Associates, and Smith, Hinchman & Grylls.
Parke-Davis pioneered many advances in modern medicine, introducing standardized drug production, developing new vaccines, hormones, and pharmaceuticals, and establishing one of America's first industrial research laboratories. The company produced the first bacterial vaccine, developed one of the first widely available treatments for epilepsy and seizures, introduced the first commercially available Adrenalin (epinephrine), and later played a key role in the large-scale production of the Salk polio vaccine. Its 1902 Research Laboratory became the first building in the United States designed specifically for pharmaceutical research and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. At its peak, the Detroit plant employed nearly 4,000 people and was recognized worldwide for its scientific innovation, making Parke-Davis one of Detroit's most important industrial and research institutions before the rise of the automobile industry.
The 1902 Parke-Davis Research Laboratory (Building 55) was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 because it was the first building in the United States specifically designed and constructed for pharmaceutical research by a manufacturing company.
The laboratory became the center of groundbreaking medical discoveries that transformed modern medicine. Scientists at Parke-Davis pioneered standardized drug production, developed life-saving biological serums and vaccines, and introduced important pharmaceuticals, including the first commercially available Adrenalin (epinephrine). The company's research also led to major advances in endocrinology, antibiotics, and vaccine development. Because of its pivotal role in the evolution of pharmaceutical research and the American drug industry, Building 55 is recognized as one of the nation's most significant scientific and industrial landmarks. The Parke-Davis Research Laboratory Building is also the centerpiece of the Parke, Davis & Company Pharmaceutical Plant, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 1985.
In mid-2026, the building is undergoing pre-development planning. Formerly operating as the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel, the property was acquired by Bedrock Detroit in 2022 and is slated for redevelopment into new retail and hospitality spaces.
Today, the former Parke-Davis complex is known as River Place, with its historic industrial buildings adapted for residential, office, retail, hotel, and restaurant uses. Parke-Davis itself eventually became part of Pfizer.
We currently feature three other buildings from the former Parke, Davis & Company Pharmaceutical Plant: 100 River Place (former Building 69), 300 River Place (former Buildings 64/65) and 500 River Place (former Buildings 13-21, 24). Additional buildings from this historic industrial complex will be added to HistoricDetroit over time.