The Stone Soap Building at 1450 – 1490 Franklin Street in the East Riverfront District of Detroit comprised the headquarters, warehouse and factory of the Eaton-Clark Company.
The Eaton-Clark Company was started in Detroit in 1838 by Theodore H. Eaton. Their presence on Franklin Street goes back to at least 1897; the brick warehouse to the west is the oldest, and probably built in the 1890s. Its type is of so-called slow-burning construction with floors, posts and beams in wood and a masonry envelope. In 1927, when the Eaton Tower designed by Louis Kamper Inc was constructed in downtown Detroit, the company simultaneously expanded and moved their headquarters from Woodward Avenue and Atwater Street to a newly built, concrete extension of their brick warehouses at Franklin Street and Riopelle Street, designed by the same architect.

Morris Adjmi Architects and Eaton Development Partners were invited in a limited competition to submit a proposal for renovation and regeneration of the now dilapidated historic structures by the City of Detroit and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

Thomas Wensing headed the competition team and was lead designer. The project seeks to help create a livable, interactive, and memorable neighborhood in the city’s East Riverfront District. To activate the area, engage the community, and attract Detroiters and visitors, a mixed-use development is proposed with a boutique hotel, residential rentals, (in a mix of affordable and market rate), and ground floor retail.

The Stone Soap Building at 1450 – 1490 Franklin Street in the East Riverfront District of Detroit comprised the headquarters, warehouse and factory of the Eaton-Clark Company.

The Eaton-Clark Company was started in Detroit in 1838 by Theodore H. Eaton. Their presence on Franklin Street goes back to at least 1897; the brick warehouse to the west is the oldest, and probably built in the 1890s. Its type is of so-called slow-burning construction with floors, posts and beams in wood and a masonry envelope. In 1927, when the Eaton Tower designed by Louis Kamper Inc was constructed in downtown Detroit, the company simultaneously expanded and moved their headquarters from Woodward Avenue and Atwater Street to a newly built, concrete extension of their brick warehouses at Franklin Street and Riopelle Street, designed by the same architect.

Morris Adjmi Architects and Eaton Development Partners were invited in a limited competition to submit a proposal for renovation and regeneration of the now dilapidated historic structures by the City of Detroit and the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

Thomas Wensing headed the competition team and was lead designer. The project seeks to help create a livable, interactive, and memorable neighborhood in the city’s East Riverfront District. To activate the area, engage the community, and attract Detroiters and visitors, a mixed-use development is proposed with a boutique hotel, residential rentals, (in a mix of affordable and market rate), and ground floor retail.