Detroit Central Market

In the Spring of 2022, Greenfield Village opened with its first new addition to the village since 2000 – the Detroit Central Market. Originally located in Cadillac Square in Downtown Detroit, the Detroit Central Market was in use between 1861 and 1893 as a commercial center and community space. The open air market was constructed in 1860 with 48 cast-iron columns and ornate timber framing. Due to growing density downtown, city officials closed the market and dismantled it in 1894. It later moved to Belle Isle where it was repurposed as a riding stable and later a storage facility. By 2003, it had fallen into disrepair and Greenfield Village acquired it. With a strong fundraising campaign, the Detroit Central Market was resurrected almost 20 years later.

The nearly $2 million project can be seen today at Greenfield Village. About 80 percent of the timber framing is original to the structure, as are many hand-carved ornamental woodworked details. Other features of the building were added or reconstructed to keep things up to code, including some new cast-iron columns and an underground frame that anchors the structure.

Photos courtesy of The Henry Ford, Burton Historic Collection, Detroit Free Press, and Detroit News.

Civil Engineering