Penobscot Building
Detroit, USA

HEIGHT: ?
FLOORS: ?
COMPLETION: ?
ARCHITECT: ?
USE: ?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/detroit14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/detroit13.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/detroit12.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/500%203%20(2)_JPG.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/500%203%20(3)_JPG.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/500%203%20(9)_JPG.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/500%203%20(5)_JPG.jpg

Well?

I have seen lots of buildings like these. I like this one.

7/10

6.97/10

It has a nice shape and good detail, but it just looks too dull. Better at night.

7.5/10

a bit too grey...but i like these designs

Ehh, about a 7/10. Nothing special.

not my cup of tea

5/10

a great tower for its age . . . 6/10:cheers:

It looks like a poor man's ESB. 7/10

I like the top, the rest is a bit boring

8.5/10

The Penobscot building is really awesome, its the third tallest building in the city i bleave..This spring im going to visit the look out on the top of it, cant wait. the building reminds me of New Yorker hotel in New York City. i have to give this building a 10/10! :cheers: :) :D

don't really like this one.

5/10

reminds me of ESB.. but only half as good...
6..

a lot like ESB in a way. Whats with the spire?

6.5/10

It looks like a building that would say "Don't mess with me." What I'm trying to say is it looks solid and fortress like. Although, it is very grey and somewhat depressing looking. Cool lighting scheme at night! ->7/10

Not my favorite in Detroit, but it is nice. 7/10. Any Detriot forumers, would you put up Comerica Tower (1 Woodward) and we could rate it. I love that building.

For anyone who is wondering it is older then the ESB, it was built in 1928...

And its Christmas tree is lit up on top!
http://www.downtownmotown.8k.com/detroit3.jpg

I like the Penobscot, It looks like a building that King Kong would climb up. I'll give it an 8.5/10........9/10 with the christmas tree on top :)

i'll give it 6/10 during day time and 8.5/10 during night

10/10 Detroit's best skyscraper (even better than Comerica)... this is a jewel from that classic 1920's/30's era of skyscrapers... it looks so ornate, powerful and grim... BEAUTIFUL!

how about the top only has the setbacks?:? 7/10

7.5/10

Nothing special.Doesn't look really bad.Doesn't look really good :)

9.5/10

What are you guys talking about this being a knock-off of the Empire State Building?!:bash: This was the original Empire State Building!:bleep: It was the tallest building outside of New York when constructed, and the fifth tallest all-together. Heck, it would have been the second tallest in the world (behind the Woolworth Building) if the other buildings didn't have really tall architectual spires. (The antenna on top the Penobscot building isn't included in the architectual height.)

It's like the Sears Tower vs. Patronas Towers debate. If you were on the top floor of the Penobscot building in 1928, the only building that would have a floor higher up, would have been the Woolworth Building, though three other buildings would have spires that rose higher.

This building deserves a lot more respect that it's getting. This is building all the 1930's New York behemoths got their inspiration from.

Definately a 10 out of 10.

8/10

I like it

I like the shape, but it is very dreary and that mass of shit on top has gotta go, but what do you expect, its almost 70 years old. 7/10

Great building! Anybody who's seen it in person knows what a presence it is in Detroit.... in the skyline and from street level. It's a classic and I'm proud to have it in Detroit. How many cities can display such an impressive bldg built so many years ago?
If this bldg was in Charlotta or Atlanta or something, it'd be obsessed over. Many nations don't have one building this large and people give it a 6.... weird.

I always thought it should have about 20 more stories though instead of almost immediately "blocking-up" towards that hideous light. I'm biased so......

9

Huge !
9/10

Don't really like this one ... 5/10

I forgot to vote in the poll, and I'll decide to give it an 8 now.

Its a real piece of treasure with beautiful setbacks, although the antennae ruins the top.

I love the building and the lighting....good solid construction. 8/10

Top marks! Definitely the best of Detroit's classic skyscrapers.

7/10

7.5/10

Older than the Empre State Building! Well that gives it extra marks then, as it isn`t a copy 7

It's cool but every major city has a few buildings that look just like this.

Really? I'd be interested in seeing anything outside of New York or Chicago that compares.

7/10

6.5

7.5/10

pure fuckin disrespect. ESB copy my ass.

hate the city all you want, but dont you dare deny this building.

12/10

I am suprised at the relatively low rankings that some people have given the Penobscot.
This building was completed in 1928, about 1.5 years before construction on the Empire State building was even started.
Many people ignore historical considerations when evaluating many things. They sometimes judge the copy to be better than the original (I heard someone in a theater showing Lord of the Rings tell a companion that the movie's plot was a rip-off of Star Wars!)

The complex arrangement of setbacks near the top is very expertly handled. If you look up at the building at a 45 degree angle to the street grid, it looks positively Escheresque! See the following picture:

http://majhost.com/gallery/DecoJim/DowntownDetroit/penobscot02.jpg

As Hudkina points out, this building was one of the tallest buildings in the world when construction was finished. It did break new ground by eschewing classical, neo-gothic, or other historical styles for a more "modern" appearance.

My only complaint is that is should have been a little taller to achieve a better overall proportion. I give it a 9/10.

7/10

8/10

8/10

A couple of historical pic

Under construction in 1928
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/detpix/2.jpg




1937
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/detpix/1937.jpg

Not the best in Detroit, but very impressive. 8,5/10

The top is just awful. :shocked:

7/10

10/10. (Ok, could be 9/10 but it's too underrated here.)

"top is just awful"?? The top with all the setbacks is the best part! I especially like the way the top floor windows all have semicircle arches at the top. The mix of semicircles and straight lines is classic geometric deco design, and this building was one of the first skyscrapers to really embrace it.

It does seem that it was probably an inspiration for the Empire State Building, since it predates the ESB by a few years, and it has a very similar overall shape and streamlined design. The ESB has perhaps better proportions overall, but I'd say the top of the ESB is a bit boring next to the Penobscot. (Of course, I'd have to give the Chrysler Building the edge over both of them.)

Also, it's a bit mystifying that the Penobscot isn't at least in the top 200-300 list somewhere, when there are a bunch of boring black boxes from Houston etc on that list.

Nice, and really adds to a skyline.. especially night shots.

8/10

7/10

nice old building. 8.5/10

8.5/10

8/10

Looks good from a distance. 6/10

Would have been better without the mast, and the colour is pretty dull. 6/10

Alot of these ratings and comments about the Penobscot are absurd. See it in person and you would feel foolish rating it anything below an 8 or 9. I rated it a 9 but now I wish I had given it a 10 for all the low marks it has been unfairly given. It'd be interesting if the 'search' function still worked here so I could see what sort of bldgs these 'critics' feel are deserving of a higher rating.

8/10

7/10

8.5

8/10

8/10

8.5/10.

4/10

7/10

8,5/10

10/10, awesome building. amd during christmas it is sweet, it's facade becomes green and red, lights it up alot.

sorry...it's very ugly to me...2/10 :lol:

I like this one. Beautiful entrance.
9,5/10

2/10

7/10

6/10

6/10

8,5/10

8. Good building. Regards.

7/10

No that great 6/10

8/10

Insert the following information:
Height: 565 ft (172 m)
Floors: 47
Completion: 1928
Architect: Wirt C. Rowland
Use: Office

7/10

10/10

10/10

8/10

Not my favorite in this style, but OK.......8/10

9/10