Paris Cleaners & Laundry
Paris Cleaners is known as the purple curved building. The one of a kind building has become an icon of Kalamazoo businesses. The dry cleaning company began in 1903 and moved to its prominent location at the intersection of Westnedge and Crosstown Parkway in 1956. It is designed in the Art Deco style which sought […]
Upjohn Building 41
Consisting of 33-acres under one roof, Building 41 was the largest pharmaceutical research building in the U.S. when constructed. Owned and operated by Pfizer (originally Upjohn and then Pharmacia) the building remains one of the largest in the world. Basic Art Deco motifs were incorporated at the stepped concrete and brick facade of the main […]
Shakespeare Company Building
The Shakespeare Company, a leading manufacturer of fishing rods and reels, founded in Kalamazoo, originally built this building to serve as their offices. Later the building became known as the Speareflex Building named after their most popular product. The simple Art Deco details of horizontal and vertical elements at the front entrance, curved corners with […]
Kalamazoo County 8th District Circuit Court
The building features an exterior of Mankato stone, marble hallways, brass and stylized metal ornamentation; reliefs surrounding the entrances wrought by Corrado Joseph Parducci depict Law, Justice, and Vigilance. The building was Kalamazoo’s third county building, with the Public Works Administration providing 1/3 of the $768,000 required for its construction.
The Fountain of the Pioneers – Demolished
The fountain was constructed as a WPA (Works Progress Administration) project under the supervision of designer Alfonso Lanelli, leading design in the Century of Progress World’s Fair, Chicago, 1933-1934, and symbolizes the removal of Native Americans from the area by white settlers. The sculpture has been criticized for this theme, but remains as a stark […]
Kalamazoo Civic Theater
Dr. William E. Upton provided financing for the building, replacing a former mansion on this site which was used for the theatre. The Art Deco style building’s exterior is reminiscent of a circus tent, emphasized by the stone entry archways that give the impression of the tent flap openings. The 500 seat theatre boasts beautiful […]
Kalamazoo City Hall
A fine example of Art Deco architecture, the building was completed in the midst of the Great Depression thanks to the foresight of a seven years savings of $524,000 preventing a need for increased taxes. The exterior concrete massing is accentuated by deeply recessed elongated windows, typical of Art Deco style. The stylized relief frieze […]
American National Bank
The Art Deco style is prominent throughout the building: in the hand painted lobby mural by Chicago immigrant Otto Stauffenberg; the sleek marble terrazzo and black walnut finishes; in the streamlined exterior of black granite, Indian limestone, cast lead and steel and stylized floral medallions. The impressive curved entry lends to the soaring perception of […]