The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Building is a historic building in downtown Detroit. It was designed by architect Julian Hess, and constructed at 1942 West Grand River and Cass as an appropriate structure for meetings and other GAR related activities. The cost was split between the Grand Army of the Republic (who paid $6000 of the cost) and the city of Detroit (who paid the remainder of the $44,000 total cost). Construction commenced in 1887 and was completed in 1890. The building stands at 5 floors of height. Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815  County Wayne County Mayor... Grand River Avenue is one of the principal pre-Interstate roads in the state of Michigan. ... Stephenson GAR Memorial, Washington, D.C. For the fictional Star Wars military force, see Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the American Civil War. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...

As GAR membership was restricted to veterans of the Civil War Union Army, their numbers dwindled through the beginning part of the 20th century. By the 1930s, the GAR had vacated the building and the city took ownership. The GAR building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 1986. More recently the city has attempted to sell the building, but a coalition including the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War brought suit against the city of Detroit to block sale of the building, claiming that a clause in the 1898 deed on the building stated that city must preserve the building as a memorial to Civil War veterans. This article is becoming very long. ... The 21st Michigan Infantry, a company of Shermans veterans. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ... February 13 is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is the legal successor to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A deed is a legal instrument used to grant a right. ...

Facts

• This Richardsonian Romanesque-designed building lies on a small, triangular lot on the northwest side of downtown Detroit.
• Originally built for the Grand Army of the Republic club members in Detroit, the building included 13 shops and a bank of the ground floor, office space on the second and third floors, and a small auditorium on the fourth floor.
• By 1934, only a few GAR members were still alive and the building was given to the City of Detroit. The building was then used by the GAR Memorial Association, a women's group that used it until 1973 when the building was effectively abandoned.

Detroit Free Press reports on April 7, 2007 that the GAR Building has been sold to Olympia Development, an arm of the Illitch Family. The Illitch's also own the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. Richardsonian Romanesque has both French and Spanish Romanesque characteristics, like the First Presbyterian Church in Detroit, Michigan by architechs George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice in 1891 Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of American architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston in Massachusetts. ... A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three vertices and three sides which are straight line segments. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

The Free Press also said that the sale price was $220,500. Olympia Holdings is expected to renovate the building at a cost of $2 million, and use it for its staff.

External links

• Information on the GAR building
• Detroit News article on building and lawsuit
• GAR Building details at Emporis.com