Freer and Lee Residences on Ferry Street

I went to CCS and lived on East Palmer for quite a few years, I walked by the chained off parking lot on John R and Ferry nearly everyday. I have never been able to figure out when the original building got demolished. The Gilbert W. Lee residence on the NE corner of John R and Ferry. It was designed by George Mason in 1888. Albert Kahn actually had a hand in designing it as well, he said the carved Gothic details above the doors and windows "looked like a disease." Funny, I think they are beautiful. [[from Legacy of Albert Kahn by W. Hawkins Ferry). You can see the Rufus Goodell House [[1890) which is apartments now, next to it in the one photo.

While I'm at it, I can seem to peg the N.W. corner of John R and Ferry that well either...where Merrill Palmer is now. I see the Watson Freer home was on Ferry...was it built right next to his father's home? I've found some photos of the Watson Freer home and it looks like a shingle style home was next to it...but that seems like a huge plot for that size of a house. It's not huge like Hecker or C.L. Freer.


I've looked at the Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS MI-311 that was done on the East Ferry Historic District in 1984...the Watson Freer home [[I figured as such because of the style of the Merrill Palmer Inst.) and the Gilbert Lee homes were already gone.


Any info would be a help for my curious brain.

I can dig up some info and while we are discussing Ferry, I am trying to find out more info on the grand home that was situtaed where the parking dekc now stands at the corner of Woodward and Ferry.

The House you are talking about is the Albert Stephens home...built in 1890 on the SE corner of Ferry and Woodward...next to the Hecker House. It was designed by George Mason. The Buildings of Detroit by W. Hawkins Ferry says, "the exterior walls were red sandstone...the roof was covered in glazed Spanish tiles."

I'm trying to find out when it was taken down. From the looks of the original Park Shelton [[Wardell Hotel) parking structure, it was in the 1920's or 30's.

Here is a neat shot showing the Italianate Victorian home on Kirby and Woodward [[where the Park Shelton is), the Stephenson home farther down Woodward, and in the far distance you can see the Hecker chateau.


Very cool to see Woodward so rural looking.

I know the UM has a great many scanned photos from the Burton Collection. They have dozens of George Mason images.

1921 Sanborn map

Attachment 7435

Thanks for this great information! As a guide for the PW Cultural Center walking tour, I have lots of info on the existing houses and buildings, but there are so many layers to the history of the area in terms of buildings, that we can't possibly cover it. But I will find a way to work some of this into my tour tomorrow morning! Thanks again.

Nice Hornwrecker. Thank you. That does help with what was next to Charles Freer's house...3 plots. From the looks of the site plan the last one on the corner [[111 or 59) looks the most like Watson Freer's house.

Oh, I just found a picture of Waton Freer's house with a 59 on the archway. Good job Hornwrecker!

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Originally Posted by motivedetroit

Oh, I just found a picture of Waton Freer's house with a 59 on the archway. Good job Hornwrecker!

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No problem, all I did was give you the missing piece of the puzzle. I've spent many hours trying to track down the location of a building from a photo; sometime all that is needed is one little clue to solve it.

59 was the old address, 111 being the current one from the 1921 address changeover, which can help you date a photo.

Is this 1921 Sanborn map online anywhere? I'd like to see Palmer and Kirby as well.

Ha ha. You guys are always amazing.

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Originally Posted by motivedetroit

Is this 1921 Sanborn map online anywhere? I'd like to see Palmer and Kirby as well.

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UofM has it online, but you need to get the password from a subscribing institution, like your local or school library. Also, the interface doesn't work in Linux, so I can't access it currently. You can find open access Sanborns for other cities, like NYC, online, but not for Detroit.

Those intersections go off this map sheet, and would entail 4 different images to cover both of them.

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Originally Posted by motivedetroit

The House you are talking about is the Albert Stephens home...built in 1890 on the SE corner of Ferry and Woodward...next to the Hecker House. It was designed by George Mason. The Buildings of Detroit by W. Hawkins Ferry says, "the exterior walls were red sandstone...the roof was covered in glazed Spanish tiles."

I'm trying to find out when it was taken down. From the looks of the original Park Shelton [[Wardell Hotel) parking structure, it was in the 1920's or 30's.

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If you think Albert L. Stephen's house is cool, you should see his tomb. It's the large sarcophagus in Elmwood Cemetery on the main road several hundred feet in from the entrance. The lid unbolts to provide entrance and egress to the underground crypt.

Note: the photo is NOT mine. I found it on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71288712@N00/2613916260/

The [[now closed) Stephens Elementary School on Seneca just North of Gratiot [[designed by Wirt Rowlands) is named after him.

Neilr that is amazingly beautiful.

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Originally Posted by motivedetroit

Neilr that is amazingly beautiful.

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Many folks on DYes have posted how they'd like to have a loft in the David Stott Building or a penthouse in the Broderick Tower; but as for me, if the Albert L. Stephens crypt ever goes condo, I'll definitely be in for 1 sq ft on the lower level.

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Originally Posted by motivedetroit

Here is a neat shot showing the Italianate Victorian home on Kirby and Woodward [[where the Park Shelton is), the Stephenson home farther down Woodward, and in the far distance you can see the Hecker chateau.


Very cool to see Woodward so rural looking.

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Welcome to the future! LOL

When Albert L. Stephens left the house on Woodward, he had George Mason build this home for him on the Detroit River on East Jefferson in the Indian Village area.

What a gorgeous plan...I love that large central hall with the symmetrical windows and french doors. I bet the fireplace was huge! Wonder why he left the Woodward Ave home? Was Woodward becoming too commerical and hectic already? I know Indian Village was probably much more of an elite neighborhood by this time as well too.

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Originally Posted by Neilr

When Albert L. Stephens left the house on Woodward, he had George Mason build this home for him on the Detroit River on East Jefferson in the Indian Village area.

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I think that became Edsel Ford's famed "lost" mansion, which was renoavted by Leonard Willeke.

Whenever I see pictures of homes in Detroit like these ones I am truly amazed at the amount of wealth that existed in Detroit at one time.

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Originally Posted by marcwigle

Whenever I see pictures of homes in Detroit like these ones I am truly amazed at the amount of wealth that existed in Detroit at one time.

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Most of the greatest homes have long since been torn down. You are seeing just a fraction of the wealth that existed back then. Jefferson was lined with amazing estates as was the lake, but those homes became simply too expensive even for the rich to afford.