PostalPast
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General Motors Building, New Center District, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1935

Subjects
Commercial BuildingsStreet Scenes
Card type
Linen
Date
c. 1930 (White Border)
Front of General Motors Building, New Center District, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1935, Mrs Elmer Draper, OH, USA, c. 1930 linen postcard
Front
Back of General Motors Building, New Center District, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1935, Mrs Elmer Draper, OH, USA, c. 1930 linen postcard
Back

About this postcard

A tall, block-long office building with rows of arched ground-floor openings and a dense grid of windows rises above street trees in Detroit's New Center District. The General Motors Building, designed by Albert Kahn and completed in 1920, was for a time the largest office building in the world by floor area and served as GM's headquarters until the company moved to the Renaissance Center in 1996; it is now known as Cadillac Place and houses State of Michigan offices. The card's warm sky and crosshatched coloring are typical of the linen era.

Postcard Details

Message

No message detected

PublisherChaffee & Co., Inc.
General Motors Building, New Center District, Detroit, Mich. --- The General Motors Building is located in the heart of the new Center District and houses the beautiful display of Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. PUB. BY CHAFFEE & CO., INC., DETROIT, MICH. TICHNOR QUALITY VIEWS REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. MADE ONLY BY TICHNOR BROS., INC., BOSTON, MASS. PLACE ONE CENT STAMP HERE MADE IN U.S.A POST CARD 65796
Addressed to
Minnie Raynor

Minnie Raynor

FromMrs Elmer Draper, R 2, Lucille - Box, 115, Elmore, OH

Postcard record

PublisherChaffee & Co., Inc.
Series6
ConditionVery good
Place sent fromMrs Elmer Draper, R 2, Lucille - Box, 115, Elmore, OH
NotesLinen-textured stock; small printed number '6' in the upper left corner; image runs nearly to the edge with a thin margin. No postmark — card appears unmailed (stamp box empty). Divided-back linen-texture card; handwritten date July 3, 1945 in the message panel. Light edge wear and a few foxing spots.

Cite this card

General Motors Building, New Center District, Detroit, Michigan, circa 1935, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/general-motors-building-new-center-district-detroit-michigan. Accessed October 24, 2026.