| Frederick Stearns Building | |
| Coordinates: | 42.3458°N -83.0067°W |
| Built: | 1899; ca. 1910 (addition) |
| Architect: | William B. Stratton |
| Added: | October 14, 1980 |
| Refnum: | 80001927 |
| Designated Other1: | Michigan State Historic Site |
| Designated Other1 Date: | January 8, 1981 |
The Frederick Stearns Building is a manufacturing plant located at 6533 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1981. It has been converted to condominiums.[1]
Frederick Stearns & Company, established in 1855,[2] was a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer in 19th century Detroit. In the late 1890s, Frederick K. Stearns (son of the firm's founder, Frederick A. Stearns) commissioned William B. Stratton to design this building[1] (Stratton also designed Stearns's personal home, the Frederick K. Stearns House, a few years later).[3] Construction was completed in 1899 at a cost of $85,000.[2] It originally contained Stearns's production facilities, as well as warehouses and white-collar offices.[1]
The building was converted into condominiums in 1989,[1] and is now known as the Lofts at Rivertown.
The building was originally three stories in height; a fourth floor was added later. The original building, with its upper story addition, is constructed from brick.[1] The façade is symmetric, with projecting pavilions at each end and another in the center;[1] this front section, which housed the company offices, is 13 bays wide and five bays deep. The center pavilion contains an arched stone entryway and a clock on the third floor. Each window in the Jefferson façade is trimmed with limestone.[1] Fourth-floor gables above the end pavilions add to the appeal of the building.[1]
A taller concrete addition, the top of which can be seen from Jefferson,[1] was built around 1910.[4] This addition was designed by Albert Kahn.[5]