Free Press Building - Pre-Restoration Photos
Free Press Building
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1885/Free-Press_Pre-restoration-interior-Edit.jpg)
This room located to the left of the main entrance was originally a customer service counter. Later, it was a meeting room for Free Press staffers.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/4429/Free-Press-Pre-restoration-2008-Edit.jpg)
The Free Press Building, as seen from the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 2008.
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A raw industrial space located behind the lobby
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The lobby along Lafayette Boulevard
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This room along Lafayette and located off the lobby was originally a customer service area and later was a meeting room for staffers.
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Detail of the original wooden entrance to the commercial space off Lafayette and Washington boulevards
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A commercial space located at the corner of Lafayette and Washington boulevards
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A commercial space located at the corner of Lafayette and Washington boulevards
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The ceiling in the wood-paneled former meeting room off the lobby. Fluorescent lighting was drilled into the original plaster.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1865/picture-022.jpg)
This room along Lafayette and located off the lobby was originally a customer service area and later was a meeting room for staffers.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1866/picture-021.jpg)
This room along Lafayette and located off the lobby was originally a customer service area and later was a meeting room for staffers.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1867/picture-019.jpg)
The ground floor is largely gutted.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1868/picture-018.jpg)
The Press Galley restaurant, located off the lobby along Lafayette
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The elevators in the main lobby
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The former restaurant, the Press Galley
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A typical hallway in the Free Press. Most all of them retain their marble wainscotting.
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E.D. Stair's office in the tower still has its original grandeur.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1873/epicture-049.jpg)
Much of the building is empty - and sadly lacking its original historical opulence.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1874/epicture-047.jpg)
The Free Press newsroom.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1875/eimg_5706.jpg)
The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard
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The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard
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Looking up the central tower
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The beautiful entrance of the Free Press Building
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The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard is lined with the work of Corrado Parducci.
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The Free Press newsroom. The large sections where the floor is missing are where buckled wooden flooring has been removed.
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The newsroom. Moisture and freeze-thaw cycles over the years have caused the wooden floor to buckle and form huge mounds.
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This room off the lobby featured oil paintings, only a handful of which still remain.
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Storefront located on the corner of Washington and Lafeyette boulevards
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The lobby ceiling of the Free Press Building
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The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard is lined with the work of Corrado Parducci.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1887/eimg_5645.jpg)
The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1888/eimg_5639.jpg)
The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard is lined with the work of Corrado Parducci.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1889/eimg_4358.jpg)
The photography studio
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The Free Press Building, as seen from the Lafayette Building
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The lobby ceiling of the Free Press Building
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The Free Press Building's lobby is short but impressive.
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One of two matching paintings in the Free Press Building's lobby
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Most of the office floors were heavily modernized over the years.
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One of the advertising or circulation offices. Most of the floors were heavily modernized over the years.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1896/eimg_4189.jpg)
One of the advertising or circulation offices. Most of the floors were heavily modernized over the years.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1897/eimg_4174.jpg)
The rooftop of the Free Press Building, looking toward the Book-Cadillac Hotel.
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A typical hallway in the Free Press. Most all of them retain their marble wainscotting.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1899/eimg_4131.jpg)
This office is said to have belonged to E.M. Stair, the owner of the Free Press who had the building built.
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One of the few offices that retains its original woodwork.
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While the building was the home of the Free Press, a number of other businesses also had their offices in the tower.
![](https://storage.googleapis.com/historic-detroit-prod/uploads/photo/photo/1902/dsc04487.jpg)
The Free Press Building, as seen from the roof of the David Stott Building
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The entrance on Lafayette Boulevard