L. B. King and Company Building
Encyclopedia
The L. B. King and Company Building is a commercial building located at 1274 Library Street in Detroit, Michigan
. It is also known as the Annis Furs Building. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1987.
In 1910, King engaged architects Rogers and MacFarlane
to design this building as their offices. The firm maintained its headquarters in the building from 1911 to 1932. In 1932, Annis Furs, a wholesale and retail furrier established by Newton Annis in 1887, moved into the building. They used the building until 1983, nearly the last example of the fur industry that helped found Detroit nearly 300 years earlier. In 1988, the building was refurbished by Frank Z. Martin.
Both L. B. King and Company and Annis Furs were prominent commercial firms in the history of Detroit. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
and the state of Michigan historic register in 1987.
cladding on the facade. The facade of the lower two stories are virtually all glass; the upper four stories are divided into four vertical sections, each with Chicago-style windows. Atop the building is an elaborate cornice which was added in 1926. The building exemplifies the commercial Chicago style of architecture that was extensively used in the early twentieth century.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It is also known as the Annis Furs Building. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1987.
History
L. B. King was born in Detroit in 1851, was educated in the city, and earned a BS degree from the University of Michigan in 1874. After graduation, King joined his father's crockery and glassware firm, which had been founded in 1849. He rose through the ranks to become president of the company in 1907, by which time the company was specializing as a china wholesaler.In 1910, King engaged architects Rogers and MacFarlane
Rogers and MacFarlane
Rogers and MacFarlane was an architectural firm based in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1885 by James S. Rogers and Walter MacFarlane. The firm produced Commissions in Detroit and southern Michigan from 1885 until 1912....
to design this building as their offices. The firm maintained its headquarters in the building from 1911 to 1932. In 1932, Annis Furs, a wholesale and retail furrier established by Newton Annis in 1887, moved into the building. They used the building until 1983, nearly the last example of the fur industry that helped found Detroit nearly 300 years earlier. In 1988, the building was refurbished by Frank Z. Martin.
Both L. B. King and Company and Annis Furs were prominent commercial firms in the history of Detroit. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and the state of Michigan historic register in 1987.
Description
The L. B. King and Company Building is a six-story commercial building with a steel frame with white terra cottaTerra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
cladding on the facade. The facade of the lower two stories are virtually all glass; the upper four stories are divided into four vertical sections, each with Chicago-style windows. Atop the building is an elaborate cornice which was added in 1926. The building exemplifies the commercial Chicago style of architecture that was extensively used in the early twentieth century.
External links
- Elbert Hubbard, A Little Journey to L. B. King & Company's: Being an Appreciation, The Roycrofters, 1913 (26 pages)