One Woodward Avenue

Before you leave the Dodge Fountain take a moment to turn your back to the Detroit River and look across Jefferson Avenue at the skyscraper known as One Woodward Avenue.

This mid-century modern building is the work of architect Minoru Yamazaki. Yamazaki is known among architects as the designer of the original World Trade Center in New York City, which was destroyed in the attacks of September 11, 2001. One Woodward Avenue was completed in 1963, just three years before construction on the World Trade Center began, and elements of the Detroit building were apparent it World Trade Center's design (see photo of World Trade Center)

Yamazaki is known among urban planners for a different work. He designed the infamous Pruit-Igoe public housing project in St. Louis, MO, which became a symbol for urban decline and the mismanagment of public housing across the nation. Pruitt-Igoe was demolished just 20 years after it was built.