The historic but abandoned University Club on E. Jefferson Avenue caught fire and burned early Saturday morning.
No one was injured in the blaze, which broke out at around 5 a.m. The Detroit Fire Department said it was unclear what caused the fire and the incident is under investigation. The building was heavily damaged.
This is the building's bio, from HistoricDetroit.org:
"The organization was founded in 1899 in Swan’s Chop House at the northwest corner of Woodward and Larned. To be a member, you had to have graduated from a university or college. George P. Codd, a congressman and mayor, was the group’s first president.
"The group would move several times before it would move into this structure on East Jefferson in 1931. It was designed by William Kapp of the architectural firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in the Collegiate Gothic style. Among its features were underground racquetball and basketball courts, and a grand two-story great hall. There were also 24 bedrooms on the third floor. This building was for only the boys, and women were forced to use a side entrance on Jefferson."
