For anyone who has been photographing Detroit these past 20 or so years, it's been a big deal. A new kid on the block has arrived: The new Hudson's Detroit building. It is a BIG change to the city's skyline. I remember several times visiting Chicago or New York with several cranes adding some building to the skyline. But there was nothing happening in Detroit. No cranes, anywhere. But today, you see cranes in several places around the city. That's when you know Detroit has definitely turned a corner.
But, let's be real...this is not your parent's or grandparent's original J.L. Hudson Department Store. Sure, the building sits on the footprint of what was once the tallest department store in the world, and second largest in area behind Macy's department store in New York City. No, this building was special. Opening in 1891, it was a building that was extraordinary and unheard of in it's day. It boasted 25 stories. It also employed 12,000 Detroit residents. Each year it presented the biggest American Flag in the United States, displaying it during patriotic holidays (nicknamed "Old Glory").The store served as a central hub for many Detroit families, a community space for those to gather. and spend time with loved ones.
As I have said so many times when it comes to abandoned buildings, or those that have already been razed: they will never build something like this again, ever. It was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomena.
In the past few months there have been many articles about the "New Hudson's" on social media, about Dan Gilbert's first and only high rise to be built in the city. The original building was slated to be the tallest building in Michigan, but it was scaled back and will be the second tallest building in Detroit. The New Hudson's building is obviously not as large as the original and is not a department store. It is a mixed-use building of commercial/office, residential, and event space. It may not ever be as grand, but it is part of Detroit's comeback story, and you cannot help but give credit where credit is due.
I remember during my art fair days patrons regaling me with stories of their visits to the city block-wide department store, especially during Christmastime. I will always have a sadness in my heart that I had never visited the building, even though it was demolished in 1998, before my photography career started in 2007. My dad never took us to downtown Hudson's while we were growing up (in Troy), which to me doesn't make any sense! Both my parents grew up in Detroit. Unfortunately, he is no longer on this earth for me to ask why. He didn't seem to have much interest in downtown and I didn't realize the historical architectural legacy we had until I started exploring the city in my early photography days.
You cannot help but photograph it if you are capturing a wide vista of the city, and I've captured the city from several vantage points this past year. Below you can see how the New Hudson's building has made it's mark on reshaping Detroit's skyline. But please, don't get me started on the debacle of the future of the Renaissance Center.
Below are several other images I captured of the skyline in 2025 where you can see the New Hudson's building as part of the new Detroit skyline. That new kid is looking pretty good.
Thanks for reading my photo story on the New Hudson's building! If you are interested in prints of any of these images, you can find them in my Skylines Collection.
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