Famous people's places / Detroit – Midtown
Walter P. Reuther Library
Wayne State University's archive building, home to the largest labor archive in North America and named for UAW leader Walter Reuther.
01 / The story of this place
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Wayne State started collecting the records of the American labor movement in 1960 under the name Labor History Archives, gathering documents from unions, civil rights groups and Detroit community organizations. The United Auto Workers, which Walter Reuther had led since 1946 and turned into one of the most powerful and politically active unions in the country, funded a dedicated building for the growing collection, and it opened in 1975 carrying his name. Reuther himself never saw it finished; he died in a small-plane crash near Pellston, Michigan, in 1970, four years before ground was broken. A later UAW gift paid for the library's Leonard Woodcock Wing, completed in 1991. Today the Reuther Library holds millions of documents on labor history, Detroit's civil rights struggles and the university's own archives, making it the largest labor archive in North America.
- Grew out of Labor History Archives founded at Wayne State in 1960
- Building opened in 1975, funded by the UAW and named for Walter Reuther
- Leonard Woodcock Wing added in 1991
- Largest labor archive in North America
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- Walter Reuther 1907–1970 · president of the United Auto Workers (1946–1970)
Memorial
Wayne State's Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, named after him and home to the UAW's records.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
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03 / Events
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