Everyone has a favorite secret spot, but few are eager to share. For this year’s City Guide, we took on the challenge. Along with revealing a few of our own picks, we gathered recommendations from contributing writers, tour guides, and other insiders. And while logging in thousands of steps, we peeked behind closed doors and over balconies, and we ventured inside two completely off-the-grid locations that safeguard some of Detroit’s most precious artifacts.
Designed by Wirt C. Rowland of the architectural firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylis in 1927, the Guardian Building was originally called the Union Trust Building and was to be the financial company’s headquarters.
The building opened in 1929, but Union Trust didn’t fare so well when the stock market crashed. The financial institution was reorganized as the Union Guardian Trust Company, and the 40-story Art Deco skyscraper was renamed the Union Guardian Building. Although the words “Union Trust” are no longer part of the name, they still exist in the building.
For example, an orange U and blue T, in Tiffany Favrile glass, are embedded in the Monel metal elevator doors.
You may have noticed the winged figure in the semicircular dome above the entrance on Griswold Street. (See photo at the top of the article.) According to James W. Tottis, author of The Guardian Building (Wayne State Press), it represents aviation, “which also symbolized progress at the time” and was linked to the president of the bank, Frank W. Blair, “who was a pioneer in aviation.”
What you can’t see with the naked eye is that underneath the painted canvas on the ceiling is a horse-hair lining, which provided a sound barrier.
According to tour guide Jacob Jones, “This allowed the bank to have the massive lobby without the usual echo that comes in a space that size.”
More of Hour Detroit‘s “Hidden Detroit”
Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of ArtsSports, Hats, Scenic Spots, and ArtifactsConnecting with Old Detroit and Its Boozy PastUnder the Radar RetailRyan Patrick Hooper’s Favorite Food & Drink SpotsThe Artifact Collection of the Detroit Historical SocietyHenry Ford Museum’s Artifact CollectionFishing for Secrets at the Fisher Building
Park West Museum in Southfield
Art Galleries You May Have Overlooked
Places to See the City from a Bird’s-eye View
Views from a High-rise Window-cleaning Technician
This story originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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