National Register of Historic Places

Sante Fe Apartments

Detroit, Michigan
Listed
October 21, 2022
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
86000996

About this property

The Santa Fe Apartments were an apartment building located in Detroit, Michigan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and subsequently demolished by Wayne State University and removed from the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. The site is now the location of the Yousif B. Ghafari Hall. The Santa Fe was built in 1925 for $95,000. The building was a fine example of Mission and Spanish Revival; this style was used frequently for homes and religious buildings, but its use in a multi-unit dwelling is rare. The building was designed by architects F. William Wiedmaier and John B. Gay, and built by Harry Dunitz. The apartment building was purchased by Wayne State University in the 1950s, and was used for student housing until its demolition in 1996. The Santa Fe Apartments were a five-story apartment building, measuring 45 feet by 122 feet, built of brick, tile, and grey stone, with plentiful architectural details on the front façade. It had a predominantly flat roof, but with a prominent gable at the front. Vertical elements on the façade were created by rectangular columns and tall, narrow windows on the upper floors. The exterior also featured dentil moldings, a broken scroll pediment above the second level, and decorative railings. The sides were quoined and decorative brick and tile work graced the chimneys. The entryway was flanked on each side by a spiral column with classical type carvings just below the capital. Both Mission and Spanish Revival architecture usually receive a stucco treatment. However, the Santa Fe Apartments were faced with grey stone tiles with thin mortar joints in between. The roof was formed with a distinctive Mission style parapet, and the gable roof at the front was covered with red barrel tiles. The building had 38 apartments.

Location

Detroit, Michigan
42.35677, -83.07187
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Chatsworth Apartments
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Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex
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McGregor Memorial Conference Center
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Nearby Battles

Pontiac's War – Battle of Bloody Run July 31 1763
1763Colonial
1.5 mi
Battle of Bloody Run (Pontiac's War, 1763)
1763Colonial
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Sante Fe Apartments listed on the National Register?

Sante Fe Apartments was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 21, 2022.

What type of historic resource is Sante Fe Apartments?

Sante Fe Apartments is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Sante Fe Apartments?

The period of significance for Sante Fe Apartments is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Sante Fe Apartments?

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