Kelvinator/American Motors Corporation HABS/HAER photography

It was my honor to conduct the HABS/HAER photography and research for the former Kelvinator Corporation headquarters complex in Detroit, MI. Kelvinator was formed in 1925 by a merger of three Michigan firms that were pioneers in the field of electric refrigerators for home use--Kelvinator, Nizer, and Grand Raids Refrigeration. The new corporation purchased open land on Plymouth Road in Detroit and built an impressive complex with a large administration building in front and a factory complex in the rear. Kelvinator then merged with the Nash Motor Company of Kenosha, WI in 1936 to form the Nash Kelvinator Corporation, which in 1954 merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit to form the American Motors Corporation. AMC was acquired by Chrysler in 1987, which gradually phased out its use of the Plymouth Road building, the last staff leaving in 2009. The building has been vacant since then, subject to vandalism and deterioration, and came into the hands of the City of Detroit. In 2021 the City of Detroit Historic Designation Advisory Board entered an agreement with NorthPoint Development to document the complex to the standards of HABS/HAER prior to demolition.