Famous people's places / Detroit – Downtown
Detroit College of Law
Closed – archive entry · 1997
Detroit's first law school, founded in 1891, which trained generations of Michigan lawyers downtown before moving to East Lansing in 1997 as it became MSU's law school.
01 / The story of this place
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Detroit College of Law was founded in 1891 as the first law school in the Detroit area and opened its doors in 1892 with sixty-nine students. Over the following decades it moved through several downtown buildings, including the old Detroit College of Medicine building and Detroit's downtown YMCA, where future congressman Thaddeus M. Machrowicz earned his degree in 1924. In 1937 the school settled into a purpose-built Art Deco building at 130 East Elizabeth Street, designed by architect George D. Mason with decorative work by sculptor Corrado Parducci, considered one of the finest law-school buildings in the country. Zolton Ferency, later a prominent Michigan Democratic politician, earned his law degree at this Elizabeth Street building. The college left Detroit in 1997 to affiliate with Michigan State University in East Lansing, becoming Michigan State University College of Law, and its downtown building was demolished soon after to make way for Comerica Park.
- Founded 1891 as the first law school in the Detroit area
- Thaddeus M. Machrowicz earned his degree here in 1924
- Its Art Deco home at 130 East Elizabeth Street opened in 1937
- Zolton Ferency earned his law degree at the Elizabeth Street building
- Moved to East Lansing in 1997 as MSU College of Law; the building was demolished for Comerica Park
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 2
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Thaddeus M. Machrowicz 1899–1970 · lawyer, judge, congressman
Studied here
Downtown law school where he graduated in 1924; it moved to East Lansing in 1997 as Michigan State University College of Law.
- Zolton Ferency 1922–1993 · lawyer, political activist, professor
Studied here
Downtown Detroit law school where Ferency earned his law degree; it moved to East Lansing in 1997 and became Michigan State University College of Law.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
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