Located on Woodward just north of the DIA, lies The Park Shelton - another glorious Detroit structure brimming with grand memories and a bright, new future.
Below is a brief history of the building, and some details on its recent conversion from rental units to condominiums:
Created in 1926 by the architectural firm Harley & Ellington - the team that is also responsible for designing Stroh's Brewery and the Horace Rackham Building - The Park Shelton is located in Detroit's Midtown district at the corner of Kirby and Woodward.
The building's lobby
A gorgeous 12-story structure, The Park Shelton was designed in the popular Art-Deco style of the era, and nicely compliments area-buildings like the Detroit Public Library and Kahn's Maccabees Building.
Originally named the Wardell Apartment Hotel, after Fred Wardell, founder of Detroit's Eureka Vacuum Cleaning Company, the 650-room building was also called the Wardell Sheraton Hotel and The Sheraton Hotel before it finally adopted The Park Shelton name. 
A view from one of the units
When it was originally created, the building was an apartment-hotel - a term that has largely become extinct in the United States today - and served to provide a place for traveling actors, artists, and other individuals to stay for extended periods of time, usually a month or more. One of The Park Shelton's most famous guests, Diego Rivera, lived at the hotel for nearly a year while working on his murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. His wife, Frida Kahlo, also spent time in The Park Shelton during her husband's stay in Detroit. Its close proximity to the DIA surely wasn't Rivera's only reason for residing there, though; other famous guests like Bob Hope, George Burns, and Raymond Burr also used The Park Shelton as temporary homesteads in the city.
As society evolved and the need for apartment-hotels like The Park Shelton declined, the building's purpose shifted from its original use to one that provided permanent rental housing to individuals living in the community. Composed of a diverse mix of tenants representing Midtown's medical, academic, artistic, and technological communities, The Park Shelton's rooms served as rental properties until August 2004, when three area developers formed a partnership to renovate and transform the building into luxury condominiums.
Featuring a variety of floor plans, The Park Shelton's $15 million renovation allowed many of the property's original details to be restored, such as its fireplaces (seen below), and original hardwood floors and molding.
Some of the amenities of the newly-refinished condos include standard features like stainless-steel kitchen appliances, mosaic tile, granite countertops, in-unit washers and dryers, high-speed internet access, and original ceramic tile and refinished deep-soaking tubs in the bathrooms of all of the units.
And, if all of that isn't enough, The Park Shelton also offers substantial extras like a 24-hour concierge and door attendant; a private, secured parking garage (currently under construction); an on site dry-cleaner; a sauna and fitness area; a rooftop solarium; and, a sundeck.
Units in The Park Shelton are priced under $100,000 for studios, and between $100,000 and $300,000 for one- and two-bedroom units, respectively. The Park Shelton's Sales Center is open daily from 11 am - 6 pm.
Please visit www.theparkshelton.com for more information or call Juliette Johnson - the very friendly and helpful sales associate that escorted my fiance and I through some of the models - at 313.872.PARK.
Have a question or comment on this post? I'd love to hear from you! E-mail me at girl.in.the.d@gmail.com.
