Union Army veterans founded the Grand Army
of the Republic (GAR) in Decatur, Illinois in 1866 with the aims of encouraging
camaraderie among
former soldiers, honoring those who died to preserve the Union and to provide
care for veterans and their dependents. The organization grew rapidly as
Union
veterans moved into their late adult years. By 1890, the GAR had a membership
of more than 400,000. This organization amassed considerable power and was
generally
supported by Republicans since that party strongly pursued the Civil War, while
the Democratic Party generally opposed the war. Five Republican presidents,
I believe, were members of the GAR. Memorial Day is one achievement of the
GAR since they called for the first one—May 30, 1868—and
subsequently promoted this remembrance of the soldiers who fell saving the
Union. The GAR
lobbied effectively for benefits for handicapped veterans and then, later,
pensions and health care for all Union veterans in their old age. Their
success in obtaining
federal support for the older population set a precedent for the Social Security
legislation enacted in the Roosevelt Administration in 1935 and the Medicare
legislation enacted in Lyndon Johnson’s Administration.
By the 1880s, most northern communities had one or several active GAR posts. There were four in Detroit. Quite often they would successfully convince local governments to erect monuments commemorating the Union forces and then build a meeting hall for the GAR. GAR posts in Detroit pressured the city’s government to build an appropriate structure. This is the one you see at West Grand River and Cass. The cost was $44,000. The GAR posts paid $6,000, while the city government paid the rest. In 1887, when this massive building was constructed, a market occupied this prime location. Those who sold goods on that location pressured the city’s government to devote the first floor to their markets.
Julian Hess was chosen as the architect and he worked in the Richardson Romanesque style that was popular in their era. You see that he selected a castle-like theme and designed an imposing four-story structure, one that suggests military strength. Two of Hess’s other Detroit designs are equally massive, but done in rather different style: St. Mary’s Parish House on Monroe that the patrons of the Greektown Casino see and Trumbull Avenue Presbyterian which is also in the Richardson Romanesque mode. I believe that Hess died before the GAR hall was complete so Richard Raseman, whose outstanding building in Detroit is the Harmonie Club, completed the design.
The GAR restricted membership to Union Army veterans, so their rolls declined rapidly in the Twentieth Century. Michigan’s last Civil War soldier died in 1951. By the 1930s, the GAR ceased using this building and the city began renting it out. In 1943, the Department of Parks and Recreation took over the space, but by 1973, it became a vacant building. It is my understanding that the GAR Building is now owned by that component of the Illich business endeavor focused upon downtown development. Since the mid-1990s, there has been extensive development of downtown Detroit east of Woodward. Similar developments are planned for downtown west of Woodward. By 2005, there were concrete plans to convert the Lafayette Building into condos and the Book Cadillac into both hotel and condo space. If the developers of those buildings are successful, quite likely serious consideration will be given to converting the GAR building to residential or commercial uses.
Architects: Julian Hess and Richard Raseman
Architectural Style: Richardson Romanesque
Date of construction: 1887 to 1890
Use in 2005: Vacant building awaiting redevelopment
City of Detroit Local Historic District: Not listed
State of Michigan Registry of Historic Places: Not listed
National Register of Historic Places: #86000262; Listed February 13, 1986.
Photograph: Ren Farley; November, 2005