Quote:
Originally Posted by Dralcoffin
Yeah, every year in the late 20s and early 30s, New York was adding the equivalent of most other major skylines to its own. One "what if" I wonder about is if the GD had never happened, what would have happened to skylines? ....
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There are probably similar tales from other cities but in Detroit in particular two notable projects were canceled because of the Great Depression:
1. Fisher Building, Phase 2 and 3: This would have added a 60 story central tower and another 28 story mirror image of the existing building on the other side. When the project was canceled, enough materials had been procured that were instead used to build a wide 10 story building that is now called "The Albert Kahn Building".
From
www.criticaldetroit.org
The existing Fisher Building is the section on the right. The entire complex, if completed would have been reminiscent of some of Hugh Ferriss' drawings from his book "Metropolis of Tomorrow".
2. Book Tower, Phase 2: This would have added an 81 story tower on the south side of the existing 13 story Book Building and 36 story Book Tower. Postcards showing the proposed building were published.
Image posted on atdetroit.net
The smaller tower in the background and the connecting section still exist but are currently emtpy, so perhaps it is just as well that the addition office space was not added to the oversupply.