Detroit Harbor Terminal Building

Warehouse in Michigan, United States

Detroit Harbor Terminals Inc. Building

Boblo Building as seen from the Detroit River

Alternative names| Boblo Island Detroit Dock Building, Detroit Marine Terminal Building
General information
Status| Demolished
Town or city| Detroit
Country| US
Coordinates| 42°18′23.47″N 83°05′12.2″W﻿ / ﻿42.3065194°N 83.086722°W﻿ / 42.3065194; -83.086722
Completed| March 15, 1926
Demolished| 2023 (ongoing)
Owner| Moroun Company
Technical details
Floor count| 10
Floor area| 900,000 sq ft (83,613 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firm| Albert Kahn Inc.

The Detroit Harbor Terminal Building, also known as the Detroit Marine Terminal Building, was a ten-story warehouse in Detroit, Michigan. The warehouse was located on the Detroit River just downriver from the Ambassador Bridge between S. McKinstry and Clark Streets on West Jefferson Avenue.

On 1 May 1925, the Detroit Railway and Harbor Terminals Company issued $3.75 million in bonds towards the construction of a 12-acre terminal warehouse and related facilities. The large warehouse that would be built was intended to relieve shortage of storage space for the growing city.[1] Construction of a ten-story, 900,000 square feet building, of reinforced concrete, was the largest on the Great Lakes when it opened on 15 March 1926.[2] The new building was designed by Albert Kahn and his firm.

## Current status

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The former warehouse was acquired by Boblo Island Amusement Co., and used up until 2003 when the site was foreclosed; the Boblo Island Amusement Park had already been long abandoned since 1993. This structure quickly became a hot-spot for explorers, photographers, and vandals; due to the building's immense size, there was plenty of space to partake in these activities.

In 2016, a fire was sparked in the fourth-floor offices of the building, and the blaze was fought throughout the night.

By 2021, the former warehouse was purchased by the Moroun Company, which had plans to demolish it.[3] In 2022, work on the building began but unexpectedly halted. It is suspected that the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority may have been the reason why the Moroun Company hasn't proceeded with demolition, as the authority stated its objection to the plan. In late March 2023, demolition resumed, with demolition crews demolishing the Jefferson facade and a large portion of the main warehouse. As of September 2023, demolition of the building has finished, and debris is being removed from the site as of November 2023. [4][5]

## Gallery

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* Inside the vacant building which has been stripped of much of its metal by thieves and vandalized.

* The main entrance on Jefferson Ave. W.

* View of the east-northeast (upriver) side of the building from Clark St. and Jefferson Ave. W. The graffiti was new as of April 2011.

* View of the north side of the building from Clark St. and Jefferson Ave. W. The graffiti was new as of April 2011.

* Pump-house and boiler-room, that provided refrigerant and heat to the warehouse building, 2021

* What remains of the fourth-floor office space, 2021

* Detroit Harbor Terminal undergoes demolition, 2023

## See also

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* Boblo Island Amusement Park (1898-1993) on Bois Blanc Island (Ontario), formerly a destination of ferry service from this terminal.

## Further reading

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* Detroit Harbor Terminals Building Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine at Abandoned
* Detroit Harbor Terminals Building at DetroitUrbex
* Ziewers, Helmut (January 4, 2023). "Detroit Harbor Terminal Building". Historic Detroit. Retrieved July 30, 2023.

## References

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1. ^ "Detroit Railway and Harbor Terminals Co". Detroit Free Press. 5 May 1925. p. 23.
2. ^ "A New Industry for Detroit". Detroit Free Press. 4 Nov 1926. p. 82.
3. ^ Frank, Annalise (October 21, 2021). "Port authority raises objections to Moroun plan to demolish Boblo building in Detroit". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
4. ^ "Demolition occurs on Boblo building after sitting dormant for decades in Detroit Harbor Terminals". WDIV News. June 26, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
5. ^ "A 'little slice of heaven' will soon be gone as Detroit riverfront landmark gets demolished". CBC News. April 22, 2023.