Ransom Gillis House in Brush Park

**Richard** · October-01-15, 11:36 PM

^^ look closely at the second photo in p69 post #95 above the supporting post,at the crack,it is narrow in the front and more pronounced in the back.

The post would be carrying the downward forces,but if the interior bracing was rotten the force starts to be pushed inwards which is what it appears to be happening,it seems like they filled in the cracks but not sure why the supporting issue was not resolved first.

Maybe they figured it was not worth straightening it out or was stable enough as is,seems to like working from the top down verses from the foundation up,but they are there so they know and if it falls it falls on them.

**jmarie** · October-02-15, 07:28 AM

Nicole Curtis announced a few days ago that the open house will be in a few weeks, and to watch out for an announcement. [[Which is strange because she usually does them after the episodes air.)
I didn't realize they were that close to being done.

**old guy** · October-02-15, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by Richard

I agree.

It is going to be hard to look at any derelict building in Detroit now and use the "its to far gone to save" argument.

I wonder if they are going to "stain" the brick work which would blend it in to all one color and cover up the repairs.

I'm sure they will. The masonry work that's been done on this building is/has been done by some obviously skilled people. I'm sure they'll finish up by matching all the brick.
I can't imagine what this cost, but I'm certainly glad they did it.

One thing I wonder about is what will fill in next to a gem like this?

**Pam** · October-23-15, 07:01 PM

Open house date announced:

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-hgtv.php#more

HGTV star and host of the Rehab Addict Nicole Curtis announced an open house for her current Detroit project, Ransom Gillis House. The open house will take place on Nov 1

**Maof** · October-24-15, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Pam

Open house date announced:

http://detroit.curbed.com/archives/2...-hgtv.php#more

that line is going to be a long one.

**One Shot** · October-25-15, 10:48 AM

And everyone will be moved to the front of the line because everyone's disabled these days

**drjeff** · October-26-15, 01:22 PM

Even the landscaping is done as of last week. I've been driving by every day. It's a real beauty.

**Lowell** · October-27-15, 09:06 AM

Getting closer to completion... From last Friday. Click image for large view.
Ransom Gillis House Oct. 24, 2015

Ransom Gillis House Sept. 25, 2015

Ransom Gillis Low Point 2005

**esighed** · October-27-15, 10:09 AM

[I noticed on the original house there were short decorative "things" instead of railing on the front porch. Does anyone know what those are on this Venetian Gothic house?

[/QUOTE]

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · October-27-15, 12:17 PM

Truly amazing and I can't wait to see the show! I sure wish I could attend the open house.

**jmarie** · November-01-15, 05:31 PM

Anyone go today? I wanted to but I am my sister's weekend babysitter and my niece is only 20 months old. It interfered with nap time, plus she is a monster thanks to the time change messing up her schedule.

MLive posted pictures http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...tis_renov.html and if you have the app Periscope, she did a live broadcast.

**Zads07** · November-01-15, 07:25 PM

Heck of a day at the Ransom Gillis House. Here's two photos I took while there today.

EDIT: Sorry I'm not sure how to rotate the photos on here.

**Honky Tonk** · November-01-15, 08:36 PM

I pointed out the problem to her....... it's been corrected.

**Pam** · November-02-15, 05:09 AM

MLive posted pictures http://www.mlive.com/business/detroi...tis_renov.html and if you have the app Periscope, she did a live broadcast.

I'm not crazy about the exposed brick. I liked the tile with the name of the house on it.

**mikeg19** · November-02-15, 07:19 AM

I think all in all, a pretty nice job. I'll be watching her show to see all the reno and details. It may not be 100% historically accurate, but I think we can all agree it's a pretty accurate representation on what the house looked like. It'd be nice to see her partner with Quicken on the remaining Victorian homes in the neighborhood and rehab all of them. Pipe dream probably.

**Wintersmommy** · November-02-15, 09:07 AM

I loved it...especially the front unit which was by far my favorite. I was surprised by the thickness of some of the walls. This was most noticeable in the back unit as you walked into the kitchen. The wall was massively thick. No wonder it withstood time despite the complete abandonment of the last 40+ years. Considering that the house was a shell I knew that there would be no original interior details. And given the tight timeframe I am not surprised that they didn't re-create some details [[ I hear people provided her/the team with some). I would have liked to see some of those details re-created but overall it was a beautiful house and I am super happy to see it completed. If that house can come back from the dead so can others.

**Wintersmommy** · November-02-15, 09:13 AM

question ....anywhere know where the "before" interior pictures are online? I looked but don't see them anywhere. In the house yesterday they had pictures of each room before rehab. in one room [[the only one with an original fireplace) the picture was taken from the basement or lower level looking up to the sky. All the floors and the roof were missing and this fireplace was visible on a wall several "floors" above. I am looking for this picture

**emu steve** · November-02-15, 09:36 AM

Curious how much the house will sell for?

It is a beautiful house in a neighborhood which isn't really a neighborhood yet [[but will be).

**andrew.w** · November-04-15, 05:16 PM

I'm not big on exposing brick in historic homes just for the heck of it either, but here I think it makes sense, since basically everything historic is gone except for those brick walls. It's a little reminder of the abandoned brick shell it once was.

**Danny** · November-04-15, 07:56 PM

If Ransom Gillis was alive, he would wept in tears and say. Thank-you for saving my beautiful home, Ms. Curtis.

**ABetterDetroit** · November-06-15, 05:08 PM

Great episode last night. Nicole couldn't be any more Detroit hardworking, take no BS and a Vision of what she wants. I liked the way the kitchen cabnet guys started sweating bullets when the measurements weren't quite right and she said not a problem this is how we will fix it. The house is really coming out nice.

**Lowell** · December-13-15, 12:17 PM

Never ever let hope die.
Ransom Gillis House - August 2, 2000

Ransom Gillis House - December 3, 2015

**gumby** · December-14-15, 09:03 PM

That is quite the before and after.

**mikeg19** · December-15-15, 07:07 AM

I hope the remaining 3-4 Victorian homes slated to be rehabbed are restored with the attention to detail that RG has been.

**Whitehouse** · April-03-16, 04:14 PM

I was watching the movie "Four Brothers" again and completely forgot the mansion made an appearance! A brief one but the mansion looked indeed as in the 2005 picture above. No surprise since the movie was shot there in 2005. I youtubed the scene.

Seems the Google streetview pictures on Alfred street have been updated since in those pictures the restoration is ongoing, the pictures from John R are still before restoration started.