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Planada Apartments, 1929

Planada Apartments, 1929 image
Year
1929
Description

1127 East Ann Street

Planada Apartments, 1929

After World War I, student enrollments at the University of Michigan increased dramatically, putting a strain on available rental housing. In addition, with the completion of the new University Hospital in 1925, more housing units were needed nearby for the personnel associated with this huge enterprise. As a result, a type of apartment building more commonly associated with larger urban areas such as Detroit and Chicago was constructed in Ann Arbor.

Like the others in the area, the Planada is in one of the revival styles popular in the 1920s. As the name suggests, the yellow-brick building has a Spanish Revival flavor, from the red clay roof tiles decorating the front roof line with a shaped stone pediment in the center, the wrought iron balconies, twisted stone columns and various pointed window arches, to the small colored tiles in the entry foyer and the charming set of murals on the ceiling depicting various rustic scenes in pastels of pinks and greens. It is almost a pastiche of its period, with every window having a different hood shape, material and form. Like all apartment buildings of this era, it used steel casement windows with many panes of glass. Similarities between this building and buildings in Detroit's Palmer Park suggest it might have been designed by a Detroit architect.

The first occupants were predictably professionals associated with the hospital: teachers, nurses and bacteriologists. Others were students, insurance agents and small business managers. All were taking advantage of the latest in interior design, which usually included Pullman or Murphy kitchens and sometimes Murphy beds.

Many fondly remember this building and make an effort to drive by it on their visits to Ann Arbor. It was one of the many buildings owned by the Lueck family which meant it was kept in good repair and rented at a reasonable price.

Rights Held By
Photos used to illustrate Historic Buildings, Ann Arbor, Michigan / by Marjorie Reade and Susan Wineberg.