The Roosevelt Warehouse, more commonly known as the Detroit Public Schools Book Depository, is a building on 14th & Marantette Street in Detroit, Michigan. It is understood to have been designed by Albert Kahn and that it was originally a Post Office before being used as the Public Schools' surplus equipment depository.[1] It is currently owned by Ford Motor Company, who renovated it as part of its new Michigan Central Mobility Innovation District, transforming it into an innovation center.[2] The building is home to the Detroit headquarters of Newlab, a multi-disciplinary technology company.
History
The building caught fire in 1987. The fire and efforts to extinguish it heavily damaged much of the supplies inside, which included science and sports equipment, scissors, crayons, and books, many still unused and in their original wrapping. After the fire the building was abandoned, along with all of its contents. The reason why the building's contents were not salvaged by Detroit Public Schools is unknown.[3]