J. L. Hudson Department Store and Addition

J. L. Hudson Company
Company type	Department store
Industry	Retail
Founded	1891
Founder	Joseph Lowthian Hudson
Defunct	1983
Fate	Demolished by controlled implosion in 1998
Headquarters	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Products	Department store retail

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The J. L. Hudson Building—commonly known as "Hudson's"—was a department store situated at 1206 Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Construction began in 1911, with multiple expansions occurring over several decades, culminating in its final form by 1946. The building was named after Joseph Lowthian Hudson, the founder of the company. The original Hudson's structure on this location was inaugurated in 1891 but was torn down in 1923 to make way for the new edifice. Serving as the flagship outlet for the Hudson's retail chain, the building stood as a prominent landmark until it was brought down through a controlled implosion on October 24, 1998. At that time, it held the distinction of being the tallest building ever demolished via implosion.

The structure

Conceived by the architectural firm Smith, Hinchman, & Grylls, the Hudson's building comprised roughly 33 floors: five basement levels, a main floor, mezzanine, floors two through fifteen, an intermediate 15½ floor, floors sixteen through twenty-one, a 21½ floor, and finally floors twenty-two through twenty-five. The full footprint of the building was covered only from the upper two basement levels up to the twelfth floor. A tower extended more than 400 feet above Farmer Street on one side. On all four façades, large red neon letters made of porcelain-coated copper spelled out "HUDSON'S."

File:HudsonWindow.jpg

A window of the J. L. Hudson Building

Encompassing approximately 2.2 million square feet of combined retail and office space, Hudson's included several dining establishments and exemplified the Chicago School architectural style. The exterior featured red brick cladding above the second floor, while below that level polished pink granite panels were used. The design incorporated terra-cotta cornices and rosettes extensively along with decorative ironwork elements. Frosted windows on the mezzanine and third through fifth floors were adorned with ovals bearing the initials "JLH."

The structure reached a height of 439 feet from its second basement level to the top of its penthouse tower and was crowned with a flagpole rising an additional 110 feet.

The store ceased operations on January 17, 1983, during a period marked by significant decline in downtown Detroit.

Following its closure to customers, Hudson's retained approximately 1,100 headquarters employees within the downtown building. In May 1984, The J. L. Hudson Company formally merged into Dayton Hudson Corporation’s Department Store Division; however, stores continued to operate under the Hudson's brand name. Executive and purchasing roles were relocated to Minneapolis while other staff moved to Northland Center in Southfield. The final corporate function housed in the downtown Detroit location—the credit department—relocated in October 1986. Dayton Hudson sold the building in December 1989.

On October 24, 1998 at precisely 5:47 p.m. Eastern Time, Controlled Demolition, Inc. executed an implosion that reduced the building to a debris pile approximately 60 feet high. An estimated crowd of 20,000 spectators witnessed the event firsthand. The demolition caused windows to shatter on numerous nearby vacant retail buildings along Woodward Avenue and generated a massive dust cloud that enveloped parts of downtown Detroit as far south as Jefferson Avenue, affecting thousands of people and vehicles. Additionally, a section of the elevated Detroit People Mover sustained accidental damage during the implosion. Observers gathered at Hart Plaza at Woodward Avenue’s base as well as Dieppe Gardens across the river in Windsor, Ontario.

In 2001, a four-level underground parking garage with space for 955 vehicles was constructed on the site utilizing portions of the former building’s basement structure.

Future

In November 2013, Bedrock Detroit, a subsidiary of Rock Ventures granted the rights to develop the two-acre parcel owned by the city, engaged New York-based SHoP Architects alongside Detroit's Hamilton Anderson Associates to spearhead the site's redevelopment design.<ref name=SHoP>Bedrock officially commenced construction on December 14, 2017. The envisioned project features a 49-story tower reaching approximately 685 feet (209 meters), complemented by a 14-story mid-rise structure.<ref> The anticipated completion date for this development is set for 2024.<ref name="HudsonTower">

Records

Held the distinction as the tallest department store and retail building worldwide.
Ranked as the second largest department store in the United States, surpassed only by Macy's Herald Square located in New York City.
Noted as the second tallest building ever brought down through controlled implosion, maintaining this status until the demolition of the unfinished Meena Plaza I in Abu Dhabi in 2020.<ref>
Also recognized as the second largest building to be demolished via controlled implosion, following the Sears Merchandise Center in Philadelphia, which was imploded in 1994.

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The structure

Future

Records

See also

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External links