Michigan Finds: Pewabic Tiles at the Guardian Building...

Last week we had a peak at the Pewabic Pottery Museum near Detroit (click HERE to read all about it). This week, I'll give you a little tour of the Guardian Building, situated smack in the middle of downtown Detroit which feasts a huge amount of Pewabic tiles.

I'm not going to talk about the phenomenal enormity of this structure in terms of historical fact nor discuss any of the incredible statistics including how fast this sky scrapper was built considering the era. That information is best left to an encyclopedia entry on Wikipedia or a book such as the one below:

Instead... I'd like to show you some of the marvelous Pewabic tile applications that can be found at the Guardian Building...

We'll start in the lobby at the front desk where a wall mosaic depicts a money tree and the stated purpose which this building was constructed - a monument to monetary organizations.

Beautiful mosaic artwork and when one look above... a fantastic vaulted tiled ceiling and arched window. This is the view of the main doorway into the Guardian Building.

A close up of the tile and pattern design...

The ceiling of one of the side entries...

The ceiling to the opposite side...

... which is where the elevators are tucked in

... a lovely little nook which also houses

one of the Guardian Stained Glass windows

(regretably not illuminated on the day of the visit)

On the opposing end of the main entry

stairs rise to an internal passage way...

featuring a wrought iron style wall

and an OOT Art Deco illuminated clock.

It gives entry to the bank and retail shops...

This space also has a vaulted ceiling with tiles...

That's the view over the open floor plan cafe...

it must impact people's conversations

don't you think ?

The tiles begin on either side of each archway

and curves with the architecture...

I'm sure we can all agree that the tile work is pretty breathtaking !

Another highly recommended visit to make if you're ever in the Detroit area... especially right after the Pewabic Pottery Museum... Be sure to wear a sweater when visiting :)