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Detroit Harbor Terminals Inc. Building
Boblo Building as seen from the Detroit River
Alternative names	Boblo Island Detroit Dock Building, Detroit Marine Terminal Building
General information
Status	Undergoing Demolition
Town or city	Detroit
Country	US
Coordinates	42°18′23.47″N 83°05′12.2″W / 42.3065194°N 83.086722°W / 42.3065194; -83.086722
Owner	Moroun Company
Technical details
Floor count	10
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Albert Kahn Inc.

The Detroit Harbor Terminal Building, also known as the Detroit Marine Terminal Building, is an abandoned ten-story warehouse in Detroit, Michigan. The warehouse is located on the Detroit River just downriver from the Ambassador Bridge between S. McKinstry and Clark Streets on West Jefferson Avenue.

On 1 May 1925, the Detroit Railway and Harbor Terminals Company issued $3.75 million in bonds towards the construction of a 12-acre terminal warehouse and related facilities. The large warehouse that would be built was intended to relieve shortage of storage space for the growing city. Construction of a ten-story, 900,000 square feet building, of reinforced concrete, was the largest on the Great Lakes when it opened on 15 March 1926. The new building was designed by Albert Kahn and his firm.

Current status

The former warehouse was acquired by Boblo Island Amusement Co., and used up until 2003 when the site was foreclosed; the Boblo Island Amusement Park had already been long abandoned since 1993. This structure quickly became a hot-spot for explorers, photographers, and vandals; due to the building's immense size, there was plenty of space to partake in these activities.

In 2016, a fire was sparked in the fourth-floor offices of the building, and the blaze was fought throughout the night.

By 2021, the former warehouse was purchased by the Moroun Company, with plans for demolition, In 2022, demolition of the building had begun. However, demolition unexpectedly halted with not much being done, and the building currently sits abandoned as of 2023. It is suspected that the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority may have been the reason why the Moroun Company hasn't proceeded with demolition, as they have stated their objection to demolish the warehouse. Despite this, in late March of 2023, demolition resumed, with demolition crews demolishing the front facade and a large chunk of the main warehouse.

Gallery

• Inside the vacant building which has been stripped of much of its metal by thieves and vandalized.
• The main entrance on Jefferson Ave. W.
• View of the east-northeast (upriver) side of the building from Clark St. and Jefferson Ave. W. The graffiti was new as of April 2011.
• View of the north side of the building from Clark St. and Jefferson Ave. W. The graffiti was new as of April 2011.
• Pump-house and boiler-room, that provided refrigerant and heat to the warehouse building, 2021
• What remains of the fourth-floor office space, 2021

See also

• Boblo Island Amusement Park (1898-1993) on Bois Blanc Island (Ontario), formerly a destination of ferry service from this terminal.

Further reading

• Detroit Harbor Terminals Building Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine at Abandoned
• Detroit Harbor Terminals Building at DetroitUrbex

References

1. "Detroit Railway and Harbor Terminals Co". Detroit Free Press. 5 May 1925. p. 23.
2. "A New Industry for Detroit". Detroit Free Press. 4 Nov 1926. p. 82.
3. "Port authority raises objections to Moroun plan to demolish Boblo building in Detroit".

• Unused buildings in Detroit
• Historic warehouses in the United States
• Buildings and structures in Detroit
• Canada–United States border crossings
• Industrial buildings completed in 1926
• 1926 establishments in Michigan
• Detroit River
• Mill architecture