Buildings We’ve Lost

A school can be a neighborhood’s memory.

Opened

1928

Demolished

August 2026

Donaldson & Meier designed Cooley as an ambitious Mediterranean Revival high school for a growing Detroit. It opened in 1928 and served generations of students before closing in June 2010. Its classrooms, auditorium, and athletic life made the building part of far more than a school-day routine.

A 2017 fire damaged the auditorium, and years of vacancy complicated efforts to find a new use. Plans for a sports complex initially included retaining part of the school; the district later chose full demolition with architectural salvage. Historic Detroit reports that demolition began August 4, 2026, and the final portion came down August 25. Alumni memories and surviving records now carry a story the building can no longer tell in person.

Woodward’s everyday life, behind an extraordinary facade.

Opened

1932

Demolished

2026

Highland Towers opened in 1932 with an elaborate mixture of Art Deco and Spanish Revival design. Its decorative entrances and apartment interiors expressed the confidence of the automobile era, even as the Depression changed the world into which the building opened.

The apartments became vacant in 2009 after utility service was cut. Fire and deterioration followed. Officials announced demolition in February 2026, and WDET’s May reporting identified Highland Towers among the buildings already lost in Highland Park. Remembering it means looking beyond its final vacant years to the residents, daily routines, and Woodward Avenue community it once housed.

A downtown destination that became a family tradition.

Opened

Store at this site: 1891; later complex: 1911 onward

Demolished

October 24, 1998

The old Hudson’s flagship grew in stages into a vast retail landmark at Woodward and Gratiot. Generations associated it with holiday windows, shopping trips, dining rooms, and the excitement of going downtown. The building’s enormous scale reflected Detroit’s reach as a commercial center.

The downtown store closed January 17, 1983, although office work continued in the building afterward. Redevelopment proposals did not preserve the complex, and it was imploded October 24, 1998. This entry remembers the original department store and the people who shopped and worked there. Its name continues to connect Detroit’s changing skyline with a much older story.

A corner where the city learned to keep score together.

Opened

April 20, 1912, as Navin Field

Demolished

2008–2009

Navin Field opened in 1912 at the site of Bennett Park. Enlarged and renamed Briggs Stadium, then Tiger Stadium, the ballpark became a defining part of Corktown and Detroit baseball. Close seating and its unmistakable corner location made the structure inseparable from the experience of a game.

The Tigers played their final game there on September 27, 1999. Demolition took place in stages during 2008 and 2009, with the final remaining section falling in September 2009. Baseball later returned to the site through Detroit PAL’s youth facilities. The major-league grandstands are gone, but the corner still offers a connection between one generation’s memories and another generation’s chance to play.

The sound of Hockeytown, beside the river.

Opened

1979

Demolished

2019–2020

Named for boxer Joe Louis, the riverfront arena opened in 1979 and became the Detroit Red Wings’ home after Olympia. Its plain exterior concealed a place of extraordinary attachment: championship runs, concerts, and the shared rituals of Detroit hockey.

The Red Wings played their final game at the Joe on April 9, 2017, before moving to Little Caesars Arena. The building closed later that year. Demolition proceeded through 2019 and 2020. Its loss belongs beside Olympia and Tiger Stadium in the story of how Detroit’s gathering places move, change, and survive in the people who remember them.

Pontiac built a stage big enough for the world.

Opened

August 23, 1975

Demolished

2017–2018

The Silverdome’s air-supported roof covered an immense gathering place when it opened in 1975. The Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons called it home, while events including Super Bowl XVI, WrestleMania III, and the 1994 World Cup brought Pontiac before international audiences.

After the major teams left, the stadium’s future became increasingly uncertain. Demolition drew renewed attention when the first attempted implosion on December 3, 2017, failed to bring down the upper structure. A second attempt succeeded the next day; remaining demolition continued into 2018. Its story connects Pontiac to the region’s changing geography of sports, investment, and civic ambition.

Before the Joe, there was the Old Red Barn.

Opened

1927

Demolished

1986–1987

Theater architect C. Howard Crane helped give Olympia its presence at Grand River and McGraw. Opened in 1927, it became a home for Detroit hockey and a stage for boxing, concerts, conventions, and other large public events. Its steep seating brought spectators close to the action.

The Red Wings played their final Olympia home game on December 15, 1979, before moving to Joe Louis Arena. Demolition began in 1986 and ended in 1987. Remembering both buildings together reveals a continuous fan culture carried between very different places. The arena changed; the people brought the traditions with them.

A grand entrance to a growing downtown.

Opened

February 6, 1915

Demolished

2005

The Statler opened beside Grand Circus Park in 1915, part of a transformation that surrounded the park with major hotels and taller buildings. Designed by George B. Post, it offered the rooms, dining spaces, and public interiors expected of an ambitious downtown hotel.

Later known as the Statler-Hilton, Detroit Hilton, and Detroit Heritage Hotel, it closed October 15, 1975. Three decades of vacancy followed, despite proposals for another use. Demolition began in 2005 and the last of the structure came down that October. The lost hotel remains a useful starting point for asking how cities weigh restoration, replacement, and the cost of leaving a building empty.