The funding was provided by Horace Rackham who was one of the first major shareholders in Ford Motor Company and he made lots of money. There are several other buildings in the area that bear his name.
It's a very nice building and you can see many styling cues of Albert Kahn on it.
The contract for design of the Rackham building went to Smith, Hinchman Grylls, then as now one of Detroit’s largest architectural firms, and was assigned to William E. Kapp, one of the brilliant young designers on the staff. Kapp had been trained at the University of Pennsylvania, and worked for several years under Albert Kahn, Detroit’s most famous architect and Smith, Hinchman Grylls’ main competitor. Unlike Kahn’s firm, Smith, Hinchman Grylls had a reputation for allowing their designers individual freedom, so Kapp moved to that firm in 1920. He stayed through the Depression, when he left to start his own architectural firm. The Rackham building was his last design for Smith, Hinchman Grylls. Ground for it was broken in May 1936, and it was officially dedicated in June 1938. Kapp did well for his firm: in 1980, Rackham’s endurance and beauty were recognized by the Building Stone Institute’s Tucker Award.
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