Slowly but surely, the sandstone castle in downtown Detroit known as the G.A.R. Building is coming back to life.
The newly completed front entrance was the subject of a coming-out party recently as the Mindfield group puts the final touches on the 114-year-old fortress at Grand River and Cass.
Two brothers, Tom and David Carleton, and friend Sean Emery, are partners in Mindfield, a media production company .
The building was a meeting place for Civil War veterans who belonged to an organization called the Grand Army of the Republic. As its membership died off, the city of Detroit took control of the building in the 1930s, and used it as a recreation building until the 1980s, when it became vacant.
The building's style is known as Richardson Romanesque, which was used frequently at the end of the 19th Century for government buildings, train stations, churches and other institutions. Another example in Detroit is the First Presbyterian Church on Woodward Avenue.
Mindfield plans restaurants and offices when the building is finished, perhaps later this year.
Click here for a complete history of the building on HistoricDetroit.org.
