Many Asian American leaders and historical experts nationwide are beginning to raise concerns over the possible demolition of famed architect Minoru Yamasaki’s 17,000-square-foot single story studio/office facility in the commercial district of Troy, Michigan.
Yamasaki was the architect who designed the World Trade Center, as well as other famous buildings such as the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, the Eastern Airlines Terminal in Boston and Japan’s Kyoto Temple.
The city employees’ retirement fund, who bought the property four years ago for $3.3 million, has reportedly sold the prized real estate to Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc., of San Clemente, Calif., and to the local Marriott Hotel for $4.35 million.
City officials have put the closing of the sale on the fast track with one real estate representative predicting it “should be completed in a matter of days.”
The local Troy Heritage Foundation and its director, Katherine Lee, had hoped to transform the studio that Yamasaki had designed himself into a museum called the Center for Peace and Good American Citizenship.
John Szerlag, Troy’s city manager and a retirement board member, says Marriott officials have agreed to recognize Yamasaki’s contributions.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be a garden or a plaque or a part of the building. I’m not sure what they will do.” He added, “On the positive side, I believe any [business] expansion for Troy will assist our tax base.”
The Detroit/Troy, Michigan area has been hit hard economically. Many automobile manufacturing plants have suffered cutbacks or shut down, and large corporations like Kmart have relocated. Now Troy is trying to turn the area’s office-building cluster to an urban village with housing and shops.
Willem Tazelaar, a local architect and a member of the National Board of Historic Preservation, is not giving up. Tazelaar is seeking state and eventually national landmark status for Yamasaki’s former headquarters.
“As a work of architecture, I think it’s very significant,” he stated. “As a building itself, I think it’s important to preserve it rather than tear it down and putting a plaque there. The building is the plaque as far as I’m concerned.”
Tazelaar says Yamasaki, a nisei, fought against racism and ignorance to succeed. During World War II, the architect worked in New York designing a new naval station at Lake Senegal. He moved his parents from the West Coast to New York City and saved them from internment camp.
“It isn’t just the World Trade Center,” Tazelaar emphasized. “I think Yamasaki’s own history is important.”
“He was on the American scene as one of the leaders of the so-called Romantic Movement [which is architectural design with the emphasis on emotion and imagination],” noted Harold Tsuchiya, a partner with Yamasaki for 27 years. “I think he will always be remembered as the architect of the World Trade Center.”
Asian American leaders echoed the sentiment.
“There is a great deal that we owe to the genius of Minoru Yamasaki,” Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta stated. “There should be some way to preserve where all of that past creativity occurred so future generations can appreciate his work. It’s sad that this has happened.”
“I hope the building won’t be destroyed,” John Tateishi, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League said. “It’s a sign of a culture and a civilization when it looks to its history and preserves some of its remarkable structures. If you think of Greece, if they had leveled everything to make way for progress, it would have been devastating.”
“We no longer have the World Trade Center in New York, and I’m afraid we’re going to lose Yamasaki’s office as well,” commented Lee, of the Troy Heritage Foundation. “We need diversity and culture to attract business and young people back to Troy, and I am fearful they will be destroying art and culture if they get rid of Yamasaki’s office.”
“Yamasaki was able to rise above all of the prejudices of that time following World War II to become a leading architect of America,” stated George Takei, actor, civic leader and longtime architectural enthusiast. “He brought grace and a sense of romance to architecture.”
City Councilman Martin Howrylak, who is critical of the purchase and sale of the Yamasaki property, says there should still be an effort to save the architect’s studios from the bulldozer’s blade and the wrecking ball.
“I think there is the ability to have the best of both worlds,” he said. “There is a fair amount of land that isn’t being occupied without building a parking lot on that site, and if the Marriott builds up and behind, that’s something that could be accomplished.”
The future status of the Yamasaki building is so sensitive that some city officials who have been involved with the sale, have turned down reporters’ requests for interviews or responded with a “No Comment.”
Thomas Ernst of Ford and Earl, who also once worked for the noted architect, says he doesn’t believe anyone is going to take immediate action. His company now rents the building, and it has been given a two-year extension.
“We’ve certainly enjoyed this place,” he stated. “It has served our needs quite well, but we’ve outgrown it. Built in 1967, the building’s roof and the mechanical system are in need of repair. Preservationists asked us a few years ago about selling the place, but nothing happened.”
Still, Ernst wants to see recognition come to Yamasaki and to other notable architects of the region.
“Yamasaki recognized that buildings should have a sense of delight,” Ernst described the architect’s genius. “He hung one of architect Daniel Burnham’s quotes on his wall that read: Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood. When you went into one of Yamasaki’s buildings, it had to be more than just a shell for commerce, that it had a sense of elegance and inspiration and something that would strike an emotional chord in the user and the observer.”