The Pioneer Building


	The Pioneer Building History In 1905, two brothers named Trippensee started a corporation to make orreries, mechanical models of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. In 1908, they erected their own building and shifted manufacturing to enclosed bodies for Buick and Ford. Sometime in the early 1920s, they sold the building to Barney Everitt and it became home for Rickenbacker Motorcar Co. Through 1960, the building served various tenants who made everything from ice scrapers to hacksaws. Gerhard Woberman bought the building in 1960, using it for his Pioneer Office Products business. In 1985, due to age and illness, he cut back and rented unused space to artists. In 1994, artist Anne Fracassa and her six offspring renovated the building and then bought it forming Fracassa Ventures Inc. They have been renting out studio spaces in The Pioneer Building since. The Pioneer Building is located at 2679 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, one mile east of Woodward Avenue and just east of Russell Street

The Pioneer Building History

In 1905, two brothers named Trippensee started a corporation to make orreries, mechanical models of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. In 1908, they erected their own building and shifted manufacturing to enclosed bodies for Buick and Ford. Sometime in the early 1920s, they sold the building to Barney Everitt and it became home for Rickenbacker Motorcar Co. Through 1960, the building served various tenants who made everything from ice scrapers to hacksaws.

Gerhard Woberman bought the building in 1960, using it for his Pioneer Office Products business. In 1985, due to age and illness, he cut back and rented unused space to artists. In 1994, artist Anne Fracassa and her six offspring renovated the building and then bought it forming Fracassa Ventures Inc. They have been renting out studio spaces in The Pioneer Building since.

The Pioneer Building is located at 2679 East Grand Boulevard in Detroit, one mile east of Woodward Avenue and just east of Russell Street

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