Upjohn Company Office Building

Building 24

Today the building located at 301 John Street (formerly Henrietta St.) in downtown Kalamazoo is called the Bronson Upjohn Building, but when the Albert Kahn-designed building was built in 1935, it was intended to house the renowned company’s headquarters. However, not long after its construction, the building’s occupants changed as the company had already begun to move much of their administrative personnel to their Portage campus. Building space in Building 24 (as it was also designated) was outfitted primarily for some research facilities and the company’s International and Patent Law divisions. Despite the economic Depression that had befallen the country, company officials argued for the upgrade to company buildings, suggesting that the cost was necessary after years of successful growth without modernization of building infrastructure.

“L.N., Donald Gilmore, and their associates knew something had to be done to change the Upjohn plant, and not just to accommodate the expanding Research Department. This was Vice President Gilmore’s kind of challenge. Industrial designer Albert Kahn of Detroit was invited to develop a solution that would overcome the all-too-numerous drawbacks: inadequate floor-loading capacity, only one building fireproofed, old and unsafe elevators, poor ventilation. Upjohn needed 50,000 square feet of added space.

“By the middle of May, directors and stockholders voted their approval, and construction soon began. That spelled the end of the White Office. In its place rose the executive offices on Henrietta Street, the seen story research tower on top of new production areas, and other facilities.”

–A Century of Caring, p.74

In 2005, after years of being left unused, Pfizer donated the building to Bronson Healthcare Group, who then spent several years renovating the building, eventually moving some of their offices into the landmark building in 2008. In 2022, historical preservationists were successful in their efforts to get the former Upjohn Company building added to the National Register of Historical Places.

Earlier in his career, Kahn had made his positions well-known on the topics of both client communication and making a functioning building beautiful as well as practical. He never wavered, and both principles well illustrated in his finished work in the Upjohn Company Office Building.”

–From the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Section 8 page 24

Known throughout the world primarily as the architect who built large-scale industrial facilities for the Detroit automobile industry (he built 900 buildings in the Detroit area), Kahn’s Depression-era building situated on the former grounds of the Upjohn Company’s downtown campus, reflects qualities of the Art Moderne style, despite its restrained simplicity and lack of curved lines. The three-story, rectangular building exhibits a handsome austerity, donning a sandstone, brick, aluminum, granite, and metal exterior. While the outside of the building appears ascetic, the interior sports striking, Art Deco embellishments throughout, including a streamlined staircase railing.

Article written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, April 2024