#261 l Marriot Renaissance Center l DETROIT l 221m l 73fl

[ThatOneGuy]

The complex is a skyline itself!

I mostly like the cylindrical tower in the center. 7.5/10

[Go Ahead Eagles]

7/10

[Highcliff]

10/10

[Gistok]

9.5/10

In 2011 GM installed LED lighting on top of the towers... it's mostly blue, but also other colors from
time to time.

One thing about the Renaissance Center is that from certain angles the complex seems as though it
has much more volume, than at other angles.

If you take the glass enclosed express elevator of the hotel (on the water sides external cylinder) to
the top, you get this very odd sensation that you don't really get anywhere else... you have 2 of the
4 39 story office towers in your peripheral vision. But once you get above 39 stories, they drop
beneath you, and you get a slightly uneasy sensation that the elevator you're on has broken thru the
roof and is continuing skyward.

John Portman did 3 complexes around the same time... the standalone Atlanta Peachtree Hotel, the
Los Angeles Bonaventure Hotel... and by far the largest of the the 3 was the 5 tower Renaissance
Center (which included 4 39 story office towers). There were 2 additional (Phase 2) towers built that
matched the hotel in glass coating. But the original project called for 10 additional towers (for a total
of 15)... one 73 story hotel... four 39 story office, and ten 22 story office (only 2 were built).

Also... the switch from the hotel going from Westin to Marriott had more to do with business politics
than anything else. One of the GM Board of Directors last name just happened to be Marriott.

Also... in most listings the Atlanta Peachtree Hotel was listed as taller... but that was because the
entrance of the Detroit hotel was built above street level. The back entrance was at the lower river
level. So the Detroit hotel is 748 ft. when measured from the riverside entrance, rather than from the
hotel main entrance.


image hosted on flickr



image hosted on flickr

[Gistok]

Also... I don't quite understand those that mention that they like the Atlanta Peachtree Westin Hotel
better than the Detroit twin??

They're virtually identical, and the color of the glass has less to do with actual color than it does time
of day and what the sky looks like at that point and time.

They really are almost identical twins... with the Detroit having the edge in the composition of a 5
tower complex... while Atlanta is the commonly found standalone tower most often found in high rises.

Also, from the water side, the Renaissance Center really does appear to overpower what appears to
be a meager Detroit skyline. But from the landward side, this is not always the case....

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


Note: This last image shows the empty area that may likely contain the new Detroit Red Wings
hockey arena... possibly in a style resembling old Olympia Arena. This image also shows that the
newer skyscrapers in the city are on the water side of the downtown area. The north end of
downtown shown here, shows the older mainly 1920s towers.

[Kulla]

7/10

[SydneyCity]

8/10.

[Grejv]

10/10 for sure

[Slodi]

I like it 9/10

[mohammed ghani]

7.5/10

[rothman]

7/10

[htotila]

6/10

[bozenBDJ]

8/10