a local detroit artist, Carlos Neilbock, asked for assistance in locating and design a site for a historical reconstruction concept he had been developing. over a decade ago, he had seen a photo of discarded remnants from the clock tower that sat atop the old detroit city hall building, a symbol of detroit, which had been demolished in 1961. located along the west side of campus martius (the focal point of this radial city), the clock tower was, at the time of its construction, the highest point in detroit.
Carlos collected the components of this clock tower. his goal is to find locations to display these items at public venues, digitize them and reconstruct the clock tower to bring it back to the public domain. currently the bell is on display at eastern market while the remaining components are stored at Fort Wayne.
Detroit City Hall Clock Tower Reconstruction
this project provided pro-bono
cadillac square east existing. public space consists of a dead end walk surrounded by lawn.
existing plan of campus martius to the left and cadillac square east to the far right.
proposed plan. boulevard widened, clock tower reconstruction and hardscape added. clock tower on axis with old clock tower site (west of campus martius) and the wayne county building across congress street.
rendering (below) showing clock tower alignment and rotation with wayne county building across congress. the wayne county building project was developed in the old detroit city hall building and eventually replaced the old detroit city hall building.
proposed plan. contrary to cadillac square west, trees and hardscape are integrated to provide a more urban environment.
