| Coleman A. Young Municipal Center | |
| Location: | 2 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan |
| Start Date: | 1951 |
| Completion Date: | 1954 |
| Building Type: | City hall Courthouse |
| Roof: | 318feet |
| Floor Count: | 20 |
| Architect: | Harley, Ellington & Day |
| Management: | Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority |
The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center (CAYMC) is a government office building and courthouse in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Originally called the City-County Building, it was renamed for the former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, shortly after his death in 1997. It houses the headquarters of the government of the City of Detroit, as well as offices of the Wayne County government.
The modernist International-style building was designed by the architectural firm of Harley, Ellington and Day. Construction began on the skyscraper in 1951 and was completed in 1954. It is 20 floors tall, and including the basement has 21 total floors.
Three sides of the building's exterior are faced with white Vermont marble with black marble spandrel panels beneath the windows of the Courts Tower to emphasize the building's vertical lines.[1] The verticality of the tower section, with its white marble-clad piers and dark spandrels, offers a distinct contrast with the 14-story Administration Tower office section, in which horizontal lines are emphasized. The brick of the Randolph Street facade was not covered with marble to allow for a more economical future expansion.
A marble wall element rises 43.5feet high stands 17feet west of the Courts Tower, and is connected to the tower by a canopy that forms the Woodward Avenue entrance. Bas reliefs of the Detroit and Wayne County seals are carved in the wall, along with a quote from the Bible (2 Corinthians 3:17) Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
An enclosed pedway over Randolph Street connects the CAYMC to the Millender Center, though its use is restricted to employees.
The Spirit of Detroit, a 25feet tall bronze statue by sculptor Marshall Fredericks, is located at the Courts Tower's marble wall element. As one of Detroit's most easily identifiable landmarks, a sketch of the statue appears as the central element of most of the logos of Detroit's city departments and services.
When Detroit sports teams (the Red Wings, Pistons, Lions, and Tigers) have been in contention for their league's championship, the statue has traditionally been outfitted with a huge version of the appropriate team's jersey.
The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center is owned and operated by the Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority, which was created in 1948 by the Michigan Legislature.[2] The building contains a library, a courthouse, and the city hall.
When it opened, the City-County Building replaced both the historic Detroit City Hall and Wayne County Building. Many Wayne County offices have since moved to the nearby Guardian Building which now serves as the county's headquarters. The offices of the Wayne County Clerk remain in the building as does one division of the Wayne County (Third Judicial) Circuit Court, Circuit Court Administrative Offices and the Wayne County Probate Court.
On June 28, 2008, the building was struck by lightning during a series of intense thunderstorms, and caused a transformer fire within the building. It re-opened for service on July 9, 2008. The smoke and fire damage was easily visible across the river in Windsor, Ontario.