Northland / Detroit
Northland Shopping Center (1954) by Victor Gruen
Located in Southfield, MI, a Detroit suburb, Northland was the largest shopping center in the country. Alvin Lustig collaborated with Gruen on the identity and signage.Source: Laboratoire Urbanisme Insurrectionnel
Source: LIFE, 1954
Source: LIFE, 1954
Giraffe family by Malcolm Moran
Source: Laboratoire Urbanisme Insurrectionnel
Alvin Lustig designed the logo and some environmental signage for Gruen.
Image: Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig
Lustig parking lot sign
Image: Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig
Source: Life Magazine, 1954
1956 photo of the Lustig-designed water tower located at the edge of the shopping center.
Photo: Mike Grobbel
Totem by Gwen Lux
Photo: Mike Grobbel
You can see part of this wayfinding sign in the photo above.
Source: LIFE - Aug 30, 1954
It's unclear to me if Lustig designed these interior signs. The main entrance monument, parking lot signage and the water tower are the things that are usually credited to Lustig. Though, you'll notice that his logo is on top of the sign.Photo: Mike Grobbel
This is so good!
Photo: Mike Grobbel
Water mobile sculpture by Richard Hall Jennings
Photo: Mike Grobbel
Northland was the beginning of a nationwide regional suburban shopping center trend. It was part of a greater shift of resources from the inner city to the suburbs. This was the beginning of Detroit's problems.
Alvin Lustig-designed entrance sign.
Image: Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig
Fast forward 61 years.
The center closed in March, 2015.
Source: 7 Action News
The only car in the lot was a security guard.
Gruen eventually regretted his involvement in the creation of the suburban shopping mall monster...
Victor Gruen- "I am often called the father of the shopping mall. I would like to take this opportunity to disclaim paternity once and for all. I refuse to pay alimony to those bastard developments. They destroyed our cities."