Michigan Modern

08/13/2026

A great presentation coming up on September 15 about architect Minoru Yamasaki! Learn more 👇👇

Our friends at A2Modern are hosting an event with guest speaker Dale Gyure!

Gyure is an author of the book Minoru Yamasaki, and is currently a professor in the College of Architecture and Design at Lawrence Technological University. He is also on the board of Docomomo Michigan.

This lecture is part of their a2modern Midcentury Modern Lecture Series.

Minoru Yamasaki is best known as the architect behind large public projects such as the original World Trade Center, the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University, the US Science Pavilion at the Seattle World’s Fair, and the Lambert-St. Louis Airport.

Few people realize that Yamasaki lived in Michigan for forty years and most of his built work is located here.

This presentation will focus on Yamasaki’s architecture in Michigan, particularly his lesser-known buildings, in recognition of the fact that he spent most of his professional life creating architecture that contributed to the fabric of Michigan’s everyday built environment

a2modern Midcentury Modern Lecture Series
Featuring Dale Gyure
Date: Tuesday September 15
Time: 6:00-7:30
Place: Ann Arbor District Library Program Room,
4th Floor

08/07/2026

Happy ! Did you know Detroit is home to the only marble Art Deco style lighthouse in the United States?

Located at the east end of Belle Isle Park - Michigan, it was designed by Albert Kahn with decoration by Hungarian sculptor Géza Maróti. The tower was constructed of Georgia marble in 1930 and is 47' tall, topped by an irregular octagonal bronze lantern room. It is named for William Livingstone, a former president of the Lake Carriers' Association, a Great Lakes shipping trade group.

The light is still an active aid to navigation today. Some of the recent repair work to the light was funded by a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant, the funding for which is generated the sales of the specialty Save Our Lights Michigan license plate. Learn more about lighthouse preservation in Michigan and how to get the plate for your vehicle: www.michigan.gov/saveourlights.

07/02/2026

Dr. Luther Bruce's 1977-built Monolithic Dome house near Kalamazoo is on the market and causing quite a media stir!

The house's seven interconnected domes create a flower-like footprint that has made the home an architectural landmark in southwest Michigan.

06/23/2026

The City of Livonia is searching for a private partner to help write the next chapter for the Gunnar Birkerts-designed Alfred Noble Library. The library opened in 1967 and was noted for its strategic use of clerestory windows, bringing diffused, natural light into the book stacks and other areas of the building. The building was closed in 2019 due to water and mold issues, and had been proposed for demolition, but a task force formed in late 2025 has shifted the conversation from removal to adaptive reuse.

Learn more: https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/wayne-county/livonia-seeks-private-partner-to-transform-historic-alfred-noble-library-building

05/06/2026

Guided tours of a Frank Lloyd Wright and at Lawrence Tech? Sign us up! A limited number of tickets are available... 👇

04/10/2026

Michigan's premier historic preservation conference is coming in May to metro Detroit... and it includes several tours that focus on the region's Modernism properties! Check out the full list of conference sessions and tours and register today: https://www.mhpn.org/conference-registration/

Don't miss this chance to tour some of Detroit's finest Modernism!