Patrick Thompson Designs The Monarch Club Atop Detroit’s Element Hotel

Downtown Detroit’s circa-1925 Metropolitan Building sat abandoned to the elements for almost 40 years before finding new life last winter as the Element Hotel. This fall, a crowning touch has been added to the structure: The Monarch Club, a rooftop venue featuring 2,500 and 4,000 square feet of interior and exterior space, respectively, comprised of a restaurant/lounge and three patios with stunning views of the refueled Motor City.

Patrick Thompson Design, which created a bold mix of art deco and mid-century interiors for the Element, returned as the creative vision behind The Monarch Club—check out before and after images here—installing a red velvet banquette that twists and turns dramatically along glossy, dark Kolay vinyl plank floors and intimate arrangements of club chairs and wingbacks. The real star, though, is the millwork in rich tones of blue and gray. Thompson cites “the clover and arch detailing in the back bar and pub tables” as a favorite, along with “the elaborate gothic detailing in the parapet walls and tower exterior.”

Above it all is The Keep, located in the top-floor tower. Says Thompson: “Its small footprint and windows on all four sides of the space make it the place to be. You feel like you are on top of the city.” Or in its driver’s seat.  

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