The Detroit News Building Tour

Friday, September 11, 2026 | 2 PM

Behind the Facade of Detroit’s Ultimate Industrial Masterpiece

The Detroit News Building stands as one of Albert Kahn’s most profound architectural triumphs. It represents a rare, seamless marriage of industrial innovation and fine art—achieving a level of beauty and cultural expression that rivals the era’s grandest public monuments. Though engineered with the ruthless efficiency required for the nation’s first purpose-built, modern daily newspaper plant, Kahn himself looked back on the structure in the 1930s and declared it “the best industrial building we have designed to date.”

On this exclusive tour, presented by the Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation and led by architectural historian Michael G. Smith, you will step past the imposing stone exterior to discover a world of unexpected, breathtaking craftsmanship. Participants will:

• Uncover the Engineering Genius: Learn how Kahn revolutionized the workflow of modern journalism by tailoring the building’s structural grid specifically to the relentless pace of printing presses and newsrooms.

• Experience Masterful Artistry: View the extraordinary interior workmanship firsthand, from the richly carved wood paneling of the executive suites to the vibrant, historic stained-glass windows.

• Explore a Living Landmark: Walk the halls of a structure widely celebrated as one of the nation’s most beautiful and unusual corporate headquarters.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to step inside a true masterpiece of the interwar era—a building that is, quite literally, Detroit’s largest art object.

AKLF Members: $25 | Non-Members: $30

Michael G. Smith is an architectural historian and researcher whose work reconstructs the architectural and cultural evolution of 20th-century Detroit. He is the author of two landmark volumes: the 2016 award-winning Designing Detroit: Wirt Rowland and the Rise of Modern American Architecture, and Concrete Century: Julius Kahn and the Construction Revolution, which earned a 2025 State History Award. Beyond his scholarly publications, Smith serves as a founding director and officer of the Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation. Through his authorship of successful nominations for the National Register of Historic Places, he actively champions the preservation of the city’s built heritage, ensuring that the legacy of the innovators who shaped the modern world remains as enduring as the structures they designed.