Writ Rowland, who designed the Guardian Building in Detroit, was said to be the last U.S. architect of the Art Deco era who had complete control over every aspect of his building's design, right down to the cigarette urns.

Rowland took full advantage of his capacity with this project, completing the 40-story skyscraper in 1929 that has been called "one of the most exuberant Art Deco skyscrapers built in America."

Now headquarters for MCN/Michigan Consolidated Gas Co., the structure was originally built to house a bank, the defunct Union Trust Co. The $12 million skyscraper was one of several built in Detroit in the 1920s. While the building's height never brought it fame, it is recognized as being one of the most ornate skyscrapers in the nation, and has been on the National Historic Register since in 1989.

"Brilliantly colored arts and crafts tiles and orange brick, formulated especially for this building, cover the steel frame structure," says a state history of the building. "The building is profusely ornamented inside and out with geometric designs executed in brilliantly colored terra cotta and glazed tile, and gold-stained glass and metal. The bank and office building appropriately was termed a 'cathedral of finance.' "

The Union Trust Co. wanted a building that would befit the bank's growing prominence during a booming economic era. Beginning in March 1927, five buildings had to be demolished along Griswold Street to make way for the skyscraper, and seven months later, the foundation, with 120-foot-deep caissons, was complete.

Limestone and granite were the preferred materials at the time for skyscraper fascia, but Rowland instead decided to test the skill of the trowel trades. Nearly two million orange "Guardian" brick were used on the building's exterior, which measures 535 feet from the sidewalk to the roof. Since brick was a less-expensive material, more money could be spent on ornamentation.

Along the lower floors ran bands of pink granite, buff Mankato stone, and green, tan, and red-brown glazed tile and terra-cotta that Rowland used to help welcome the small depositors who formed the core of the company's business. The entrances offered more color, much of which came from tiles produced by Detroit's Pewabic Pottery, and featured stepped arches that became the building's primary motif.

The tiles in the half-dome over the main Griswold Street entrance portrayed scenes of progress. Rowland divided the main banking room into three parts that resembled the interior of a church, designating an elaborately decorated, barrel-vaulted ceiling.

The building was completed in the spring of 1929, about six months before Black Friday and the start of the Great Depression. The economic downturn caused the failure of the Union Trust Co. and it reorganized into the Union Guardian Trust Co., and the building became known as the Union Guardian. Over the years, that was shortened to the Guardian Building.

Many of the building's rich details disappeared over time - modernization of the air conditioning system, for example, revealed two stained glass windows in the elevator alcoves. Today, after extensive renovations in recent years, most of the 450,000-square-foot building has been restored to its original glory.

"What we see, we must see quickly in passing, and the impression must be immediate, strong and complete - color has this vital power," said Rowland at the time, who also designed the nearby Penobscot Building.

Unusual features of the building include a three-level basement, which once contained a gun range for building security guards; a public cinema on the 32nd floor; a conference room floor built with five different woods; and a metal tablet in the lobby engraved with the names of 40 tradesmen "to commemorate the true craftsmanship of these workmen of unusual merit."

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, the Guardian Building in Detroit is one of the nation's greatest examples of Art Deco construction.