Buildings 13 through 21 and Building 24 represent the oldest surviving section of the former Parke-Davis & Company Pharmaceutical Plant. Constructed between 1891 and 1908, with a fourth floor added to Building 18 in 1921, these buildings mark the company's earliest period of expansion and embody the industrial architecture that helped establish Parke-Davis as one of America's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. Arranged around a central courtyard, Buildings 13 through 17 and Building 24 rise three stories, while Buildings 18 through 21 are four stories tall. Built with heavy timber framing and red brick exterior walls, they are outstanding examples of late nineteenth-century brick mill construction. Their façades are characterized by rhythmic window bays, brick pilasters, and restrained ornamental detailing that reflect both the functional and architectural aspirations of industrial design at the turn of the twentieth century.

The nearly 600-foot-long south façade along Guoin Street is one of the defining architectural features of the complex. Brick pilasters divide the façade into regular vertical bays and terminate in decorative round arches with brick dentil work above the third floor. Building 13 is distinguished by its segmental-arched window openings on all three floors, while a raised parapet flanked by ornamental urns highlights the passageway between Buildings 15 and 16. The buildings were closely integrated with the surrounding manufacturing complex through enclosed steel bridges. A third-floor bridge spanning Guoin Street connected Building 16 to the power plant (Buildings 4 and 5), while earlier bridges linked Buildings 13 through 18 with factory buildings that once occupied the sites of the present Buildings 4/5 and 64/65. These elevated connections allowed the efficient movement of materials throughout the sprawling pharmaceutical plant while minimizing disruption to activity at street level.

The north elevations of Buildings 19 through 21 and Building 24 continue the architectural vocabulary of the south façade, featuring brick pilasters, stone trim, and regularly spaced window openings. Together, the buildings enclose an irregular central courtyard accessed through passageways from both Guoin Street and Wight Street, providing light, ventilation, and circulation within the densely developed industrial campus. Throughout their history, Buildings 13 through 21 and 24 housed a wide range of manufacturing operations fundamental to Parke-Davis's pharmaceutical production. Their functions included herb processing and packaging, milk of magnesia manufacturing, capsule production, and ampule filling, illustrating the diverse manufacturing processes that supported one of the nation's foremost pharmaceutical companies.

Following Parke-Davis's departure from the riverfront campus in the early 1980s, the Stroh family acquired the complex and launched one of Detroit's earliest large-scale adaptive reuse projects. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Buildings 13 through 21 and Building 24 were carefully rehabilitated and converted into 500 River Place, a residential apartment complex. The renovation preserved many of the buildings' defining industrial features—including heavy timber framing, exposed brick walls, large window openings, and the historic courtyard—while adapting the former manufacturing spaces into loft-style apartments. The project became an integral part of the River Place redevelopment, demonstrating how Detroit's industrial heritage could be successfully transformed into a vibrant mixed-use riverfront community.

We currently feature three other buildings from the former Parke, Davis & Company Pharmaceutical Plant: the Parke-Davis Research Laboratory, 300 River Place (former Buildings 64/65) and 100 River Place (former Building 69). Additional buildings from this historic industrial complex will be added to HistoricDetroit over time.