Michigan Central Station

AWARDEES: Ford Motor Company – Michigan Central; Quinn Evans; and Christman-Brinker Corktown Transformation Joint Venture

Rehabilitation of the Michigan Central Station, Detroit

For much of the 20th century, millions of passengers from faraway places were welcomed to Michigan beneath the columns and archways of Michigan Central Station. But as modes of travel changed, the station languished. When the last train left in 1988, the building quickly spiraled into disrepair, left open to the elements and damaged by scrappers and vandals.

The visionary leadership of Ford Motor Company saved the landmark and gave it new life. Ford acquired the property in 2018 to become the mixed-use centerpiece of a larger, 30-acre innovation and mobility hub. Three million gallons of standing water were pumped from the building’s basement. Ford put out a call for anyone with an artifact from the station to return it to aid in the project.

Original building plans found in the Archives of Michigan and extensive historical photography aided the restoration work. Plaster and wood elements were salvaged and 3D scanned to enable recreations where authentic details where lost. More than 600 tons of unique limestone was replaced from the same quarry where the original stone was first harvested. The restoration effort was funded in part by Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits among other sources.

At the conclusion of the project, the Grand Hall, Ticket Lobby, Concourse, and other public spaces were thought to look as good as the day the building opened in 1913, if not better. Michigan Central is about more than the careful restoration of a building; it has become a catalytic nexus for new development and source of newfound civic pride.

Michigan Central Station, Detroit

AWARDEES: Ford Motor Company – Michigan Central; Quinn Evans; and Christman-Brinker Corktown Transformation Joint Venture

Congratulations!