Historic Detroit

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Grand Army of the Republic Building - Photos

The Grand Army of the Republic Building in April 2023

The Grand Army of the Republic Building, is located on the triangular shaped corner of West Grand River and Cass Avenues.

Construction on the five-story began in 1899 and was funded by both the Grand Army of the Republic veteran’s organization and the City of Detroit.

The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1899 as a memorial to Union Army soldiers.

A room in one of the GAR's famous turrets, in May 2012, as renovation work gets under way

A group from the Detroit Historical Society files into the Grand Army of the Republic Building, aka the GAR, on June 8, 2013, as it undergoes renovation.

Workers check out the soundness of the GAR during renovation work in 2012.

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The Grand Army of the Republic Building, undergoing renovation in June 2013

The restored main entrance of the GAR Building, along Grand River Avenue.

Exterior detail

The triangular lot that the building sits on gave the GAR some unusual angles.

"We rise." One of the rooms in a turret of the GAR.

Stairway going to the attic, off the balcony in the fourth-floor auditorium

The fourth-floor auditorium originally had a stage in front of this arch.

The condition of the typical floor inside the GAR ahead of major renovation work.

A set of lockers, left over from the building's days as a rec center, sits in one of the GAR's corner rooms.

Inside one of the GAR's turrets

The third floor of the GAR.

The second and third floors of the Grand Army of the Republic Building will be leased out as office space.

A cast-iron column

The massive window on the second floor overlooking the main entrance along Grand River Avenue

The second floor landing off the main staircase along Grand River Avenue

The ground floor spaces will be turned into a restaurant and a tavern.

This original mosaic floor honoring the Civil War vets remains intact in the Grand River lobby.

The main staircase off the entrance on Grand River Avenue

Dave Carleton of Mindfield - the company rehabbing the Grand Army of the Republic Building, unveils the restored main entrance along Grand River Avenue on June 8, 2013

The auditorium in the GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

The GAR as renovation work is just under way, in May 2012. For more on the renovation: http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2012/05/gar-building.php

Old Glory returns to the fly over the GAR.

The renovated and reopened GAR.