The J.L. Hudson Department Store and Addition, also known as the Hudson's Building, is a now-demolished building in Detroit, Michigan, which occupied the address of 1206 Woodward Avenue. It was constructed in 1923, with additions throughout the years, before being "completed" in 1946, and named after the company's founder, Joseph Lowthian Hudson. The building was destroyed in a controlled demolition on October 24, 1998, with many people in Hart Plaza (Detroit) and Dieppe Gardens (Windsor, Ontario) watching from safe distances.

The structure

The building was 33 stories high, 29 above-ground, and 4 basement floors, It had a floor area of 670,560 m². The high-rise was used for retail and office space, and included a restaurant and was built in the Chicago School architectural style, incorporating a great deal of brick into its materials.

THe J.L. Hudson Department Store and Addition was designed by Smith, Hinchman, & Grylls, and is Hudson's tallest building ever imploded, as well as the largest structural steel building the company ever imploded. It also holds yet another title for the company: at convert|2200000|sqft|m2, it is Hudson's largest single building ever imploded.

The demolition of this building accidentally damaged the elevated Detroit People Mover mass transit rail line in downtown Detroit.

Records

* Upon its completion, Hudson Company Department Tower was the tallest department store the company owned, and was never surpassed until it was demolished.
* Hudson's was also the second largest department store building in the United States only to be surpassed by Macy's in New York City.
* The entire complex consisted of 33 floors: 2 mechanical basement levels, 2 retail basements, 23 above-ground retail floors, and a 6 story storage/mechanical penthouse.
* The building was demolished by Controlled Demolition, Inc. at exactly 5:47 pm, October 24, 1998. 20,000 people watched as the building was imploded which turned the building into a convert|60|ft|m|sing=on tall pile of debris.
* It was the tallest building to ever be imploded.
* The building measured convert|439|ft|m tall from its second basement to the top of the penthouse tower. It was also topped by convert|110|ft|m high flagpole.
*The structure was the tallest department store/retail building ever constructed.

Restoration Efforts

Many restoration efforts were proposed prior to demolition. Demolition of this building was controversial as many in the area had great emotional attachments to the building and chain.

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=1206+Woodward+Avenue,+Detroit,+MI&sll=42.33164,-83.04778&sspn=0.662937,1.086273&ie=UTF8&ll=42.333748,-83.047961&spn=0.00259,0.004243&t=k&z=18&om=1 Google Maps location of J.L. Hudson Department Store and Addition (Now Premier Parking Garage)]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=102730 J.L. Hudson Department Store and Addition at Emporis.com]
* [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=7465 SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on J.L Hudson Department Store and Addition]
* [http://www.controlled-demolition.com/default.asp?reqLocId=7&reqItemId=20030225133807 World Record for tallest steel framed building ever imploded]