This attractive and interesting building is home to one of Michigan's oldest arts organization. Around the turn of the 20th century, an arts and crafts movement spread throughout the larger cities of the US, one that emphasized the artistic contributions of individual artists, often without formal training.. As a result of that arts and crafts movement, Detroit artists organized themselves to promote the arts. When founded in 1907, this organization was called the Hopkins Club after the famous Detroit marine painter: Robert Hopkins.
The African beetle known as the scarab is, in Egyptian iconography, the symbol of resurrection. This beetle lays its eggs in camel dung so the larvae and, eventfully, the new scarabs emerge from the dung. In 1913, this organization changed its name to the Scarab Club representing the club's commitment to the renewal of arts in Detroit.
Detroit architect Lancelot Sukert designed the present building, one that opened in 1928 when the city's economy and population were booming. It is a rectangular, three-story building done in red brick. On the first level, there is a recessed entryway with ornamental brickwork. On the first floor exterior, you will find nine grilled panels. On the second and third floors, there are leaded glass windows augmented with terra cotta tile. There are two striking and distinguishing features of Sukert's building: there is a large image of a scarab executed in Detroit's Pewabic tile. And then there is an unusually attractive complex use of brickwork augmented with Pewabic tile. We seldom see the use of artistic brickwork to grace the exterior of a building. The Scarab Club offers studios, galleries and classrooms for the arts including the performing arts. Many famous artists have signed them names on the interior beams including Diego Rivera and Norman Rockwell.
Website: www.scarabclub.org
Architect: Lancelot Sukert
Michigan Historical register: P4487 Listed July 26, 1974
Michigan Historical marker: Erected December 14, 1998. This is clearly visible
close to the Farnsworth Street entrance.
Michigan Local Historic District: Established July 18, 1979
National Historical Register: Listed: November 20, 1979
Use in 2002: Identical to its use in 1928—a center for artists
Photo: Gail Farley, October 2002
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