Caption: Old Ewald Building now NBD unitEven Name Is Changed As Building Is RenovatedOnly the location of the 59-year-old Ewald Building remains the same - the inside has been virtually rebuilt, the exterior walls were stripped away and replaced with concrete surfacing relieved by aluminium framed windows, and it has been renamed the 220 West Congress Building.The five-story building is now the new home of the stock transfer department of National Bank of Detroit.The conversion was completed at an approximate cost of $850,000, as against the $1.2 million it would have taken to erect a new building on the same site according to Frank Klaetke, of Klaetke & Marino, architects for the project.JOHN BARRETT, of Barrette Hollick Inc., the general contractors, said workmen literally started from scratch.Working without the aid of original architectural plans, crews often tore down one interior wall only to find another behind it - the result of earlier remodelling.Although a structural steel core was installed, Barrett said that the original oak beams, measuring 8 by 12 inches and extending 22 feet from the wall to the steel beams at the center, were found to be in such excellent condition that no attempt was made to replace them. "they give us a building stronger than some steel structures going up today," the contractor said.On the street level of the rejuvenated building are trust files and a steel reinforced concrete vault. Two floors are devoted to stock transfer bookkeeping: one to management offices; and another to an employee lounge, lunchroom and special projects.
The front and back of this photograph are pictured below.
