Michigan Central Station - Post-Renovation Interior
Michigan Central Station
Once you pass through the main (north) entrance door, you will enter what used to be the "Main Waiting Room". Picture from Feb. 2024.
The design of the station's "General Waiting Room" was based on a Roman bath. Here's a view at the beautiful Guastavino tile ceiling inside the waiting room looking west. Guastavino vaulting is a technique for constructing robust, self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar to form a thin skin, with the tiles following the curve of the roof.
An elevated view at the main entrance from Feb 2024 looking north
An elevated view at the "Main Waiting Room" looking west. The 29,000 Guastavino tiles in the vaults were painstakingly restored, and 8.7 miles of grout were used to secure them in place - all but about 1,300 of the tiles are originals (some of the old ones had either fallen or were too damaged to save).
View at the "Main Waiting Room" looking east. Decades of water infiltration into the nooks and crannies of the 30-foot stone columns inside the waiting room resulted in significant damage. The repeated freeze-thaw cycle over many years caused severe cracks and chunks to break off. While every effort was made to preserve as much as possible within the depot, a few sections of some columns required replacement due to the extent of the damage.
A view at the southwest corner of the Main Waiting Room in May 2024.
Looking straight up at the beautiful Guastavino tile ceiling inside the main waiting room with one of the three main chandeliers in the center. All light fixtures in the building are reproductions of the original.
A view at the southeast corner of the Main Waiting Room in Feb. 2024.
More detail of Michigan Central Station's southeast corner of the main waiting room in May 2024. That's where the Telegraph station, Drug store and Phone booths used to be located when MCS opened.
A different view/angle at the southeast corner of the Main Waiting Room in Feb 2024.
Looking east toward the former "Woman's Waiting Room". Picture taken with a 50mm shift lens in Feb 2024 to avoid wide-angle lens distortions.
A view at the northwest corner of the Main Waiting Room in Feb. 2024. The door on the lower left corner enters into the former "Men's Waiting Room" and the "Cafe". Picture from May 2024.
A view at the northeast corner of the Main Waiting Room with the main entrance partially visible on the left.
A different view at the northeast corner of the Main Waiting Room in Feb 2024.
A side view of the main entrance looking east.
View from the Main Waiting Room toward the "Ticket Lobby" looking southwest. The clock above the ticket office is a replica of the original clock. Picture from May 2024.
Another view (south) at the Ticket lobby (left)
Here's a super-wide-angle view at the Ticket Lobby looking west with the Main Waiting Room on the right and the Main Concourse on the left.
Several closely spaced columns in the ticket lobby support the station's 18-story Office Tower which is directly above.
A view of the former Ticket Lobby from the Main Concourse toward the Main Waiting Room - Feb 12, 2024
Inside the ticket lobby looking northwest toward the main waiting room. Picture from Feb 2024.
A closer look at the ticket lobby in Feb 2024
View from ticket office toward east entrance. Most inter-city rail passengers at MCS entered the station via the East Entrance and proceeded through the barrel-vaulted arcade en-route to the centrally-located ticket office.
A closer look at one of the corners inside the ticket lobby area looking northeast.
View from the “Arcade” toward the ticket lobby looking west in Feb 2024.
View at the southeast corner of the ticket lobby where the information counter was located.
A view from the Ticket Lobby toward the northeast corner of the Main Waiting Room.
A view at the "Arcade" with vaulted ceiling looking west. Most inter-city rail passengers arriving at Michigan Central Station typically accessed the landmark through the East Entrance. From there, they would pass through the impressive barrel-vaulted Arcade on their way to the centrally located Ticket Office.
Here’s a view from the centrally located Ticket Office looking through the Arcade toward the East entrance. The Arcade was lined with various storefronts, originally housing a drugstore, a cigar store, a Western Union telegraph office, and a public telephone office.
A detailed view from the southeast corner of the Main Waiting Hall to the Arcade (picture center). The drug store was on the left.
A detailed view from the southeast corner of the Main Waiting Hall to the Arcade (picture center). The drug store was on the left. Photo from May 2024.
Detail shot of the vaulted ceiling inside the Arcade. Photo from Aug 2023.
A view at the south side of the elevator lobby just inside the East Entrance. The Arcade can be seen on the right side. Picture from Aug 2023.
A view at the fully finished elevator lobby with six elevators in Feb 2024. Looking north, the East entrance can be seen on the right, and the doors to the Woman’s Waiting Room straight ahead.
This photo was taken inside the Exit ramp from the Main Concourse looking north into the Elevator Lobby.
Looking east from the exit ramp toward the exit doors, the Elevator Lobby is on the right. The exit ramp will preserve the original graffiti.
Looking west from exit ramp toward the Grand Concourse in May 2024.
This image offers a grand view of the Main Concourse looking west. Unfortunately, but understandably, the lower skylight atop the MCS Main Concourse was not re-created. As seen in the Vintage Photo gallery, the brass-framed glass in the skylight was blacked out during World War II as a precaution against enemy bombing raids that never occurred.
This view, looking northwest from the southeast corner of the Main Concourse, shows the original Smoking Room on the right and the Ticket Lobby straight ahead. The brick is all original, as are the metal windows on the side.
This image offers a view in the opposite direction (east) in August 2023. The Ticket Lobby can be seen on the left and the ramp to the passenger corridor on the right.
A view at the "Concourse Arcade" between Ticket Lobby and Main Concourse - looking east.
A view at the passenger ramp from the grand concourse on Feb 12, 2024. The image also shows the bridge (walkway) connecting the southeast and southwest mezzanines from underneath.
Looking up from the south side of the Main Concourse in Feb 2024.
Another view at the passenger ramp from the grand concourse on Feb 12, 2024.
This image offers a detailed view at the northeast corner of the Main Concourse in August 2023.
A view at the "Concourse Arcade" between Ticket Lobby and Main Concourse - looking west
This image offers a detailed view of the west end of the Main Concourse, where passengers originally entered from the Carriage Entrance.
This picture offers a wide-angle view at the former Restaurant/Lunch Counter in May 2024 - looking east.
A view at the Restaurant in August 2023, looking northwest.
Looking up at the newly restored vaulted ceiling inside the former restaurant at Michigan Central Station. Around 1936, the restaurant was renamed "The Mercury Room" in honor of Detroit's first streamlined passenger train. Prior to its closure, a "modern" drop ceiling was installed beneath the original vaulted ceiling. The dropped ceiling was completely taken out during restoration.
Here are a few more angles at the beautiful arched ceiling inside the former Restaurant.
Here are a few more angles at the beautiful arched ceiling inside the former Restaurant.
Here are a few more angles at the beautiful arched ceiling inside the former Restaurant.
On our way from the Restaurant to the Men’s Waiting Room we’ll pass through a corridor with staircase to the basement.
This picture offers a view from the backside of the corridor toward the staircase to the basement – looking east.
Here’s a view at the staircase in Aug 2023.
The staircase inside the corridor once led to the employee cafeteria and storage rooms on the mezzanine level. It was walled off when restoration work began and had not been used for some time.
This picture offers a view at the former Café space with the Man’s Waiting Room on the right. The door on the left takes you to the corridor between Restaurant and Café.
This image shows a Feb 12, 2024 view at what used to be the Men’s Waiting Room (aka Reading Room) on the left and the Cafe on the right when Michigan Central Station opened in 1913.
Here are several different angles showcasing the stunning woodwork in this beautifully restored space.
Here are several different angles showcasing the stunning woodwork in this beautifully restored space.
Here are several different angles showcasing the stunning woodwork in this beautifully restored space.
Here are several different angles showcasing the stunning woodwork in this beautifully restored space.
Here are several different angles showcasing the stunning woodwork in this beautifully restored space.
Here’s a view at the ornate ceiling in the Men’s Waiting Room. 90,000 square feet of decorative plaster was restored or replicated inside Michigan Central Station during the restoration.
On our way to the Women’s Waiting Room, we pass through the stunning Main Waiting Room on the north side of the building. The door to the Women’s Waiting Room is on the lower left corner of the image.
This image shows the interior of the former Women's Reading Room (aka Women's Waiting Room), which is located at the northeast corner of the building's main floor.
Looking north from inside the Woman’s Waiting Room during sunrise in Aug 2023.
Looking up at the ceiling inside the Women's Waiting Room in August 2023.
This image offers a detailed view at the beautiful woodwork inside the Woman’s Waiting Room
Another image offering a detailed view at the beautiful woodwork inside the Woman’s Waiting Room
View at a side corridor leading to the Woman’s Waiting Room.
In this image, the Newlab at Michigan Central Building (aka Book Depository) can be seen through the windows inside the Woman’s Waiting Room.
This image offers a panoramic view at the Women's Waiting Room, which is located at the northeastern corner of the main floor.
Now we’ll make our way up to the upper floor. This staircase ascends all the way to what is now the 18th floor, formerly the 13th.
The one-time 13th floor at Michigan Central Station was re-numbered by Ford as the landmark's 18th floor. Ford's numbering system no longer includes a 13th floor. The floor looks unfinished because that's where the future hotel is supposed to go, if approved by the City Counsel.
This image, taken from the northwest corner of the building looking north, shows the Fisher Building in the distance (left window). The floor looks unfinished because that's where the future hotel is supposed to go, if approved by the City Counsel.
From the (now) 18th floor of Michigan Central Station, you can see the Ambassador Bridge to the south.
Here's another angle of the city from the upper floor, looking north. The floor looks unfinished because that's where the future hotel is supposed to go, if approved by the City Counsel.
Looking east on the (now) 18th floor. The floor looks unfinished because that's where the future hotel is supposed to go, if approved by the City Counsel.
Ford’s future vision for the surrounding area, as of February 2024, is displayed on the upper floor.
From the 18th floor all the way down to the basement now - the restoration included the removal of a massive 2.5 million gallons of water that had pooled in the basement of the building. Positioned slightly below the nearby Detroit River, the basement serves as the lowest point in the area, attracting water runoff. Furthermore, the absence of a roof on the back concourse exacerbated water damage, leading to the deterioration of the building from its inner structure to its outer layers.
A different view of the basement in August 2023.