The Donovan Building stood at 2457 Woodward Avenue, and it was the last Detroit headquarters of Motown Records. Albert Kahn designed the ten-storey office block, which opened in December 1923 and took the name of Timothy R. Donovan, who had it built. Motown's first home was Hitsville USA at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, a house bought in 1959, where a photographer's studio at the back became the recording room. As the company grew it spread along the boulevard until it held eight properties. In 1968 it took over the Donovan Building, and the offices moved downtown while the studios stayed on West Grand. The arrangement lasted four years. On 14 June 1972 Motown announced that it was moving to Los Angeles, and the building, which closed in 1974, stood empty for more than thirty years. In January 2006 Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick called it an eyesore ahead of the Super Bowl at Ford Field. The owner paid for the demolition, and the Donovan and the neighbouring Sanders Building were down within two weeks. On game day the site held as few as three tour buses. It stayed vacant until Little Caesars Arena opened in 2017, and it is now part of the arena's plaza.
Getting there
42.3405, -83.0534
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