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Detroit Regional Office of the FBI Detroit, Michigan We are a group of architectural preservationists from Detroit, Michigan. Recently, an issue arose where approximately forty-eight (48) priceless terra cotta lions head statues were crudely removed from the Lee Plaza Apartment, located at 2240 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit, Michigan, 48208. (see figures 1 and 2 below) Six (6) of the lions are now located on the upper facade of a condominium complex located at 1218-32 W. Bryn Mawr in Chicago, Illinois, 60660. (see figures 3 and 4 below) In an internet newsletter, the developers of the condominiums state that they purchased the lions from a firm called Architectural Artifacts, located at 4325 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois. 60640. We suspect that the remaining forty-two (42) lions statues are still being stored there. (see figure 5 below) UPDATE: We now know that the owner of the Lee Plaza is the Detroit Housing Commission. They state that there was no salvage contract on the Lee Plaza, the building was never slated for demolition and their intention is to restore the building. This would mean that these priceless statues were indeed stolen and illegally transported across state lines into Chicago. We would like to see Architectural Artifacts, the buyers of the stripped merchandise, be arrested and sentenced for their illegal activities, for without the buyers, the stripping of our historic buildings in Detroit would cease. We would like the statues to be returned to their original locations on the Lee Plaza so that the building can be restored to its original grandeur. Thank you. |
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