Lower East side streets like Beaufait...very old Homes??

[Gistok]

On another note... here's some images of Mariner's Church in its' original setting...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgsmith/5765173050/

[poobert]

On another note... here's some images of Mariner's Church in its' original setting...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelgsmith/5765173050/

Those storefronts on the church get me every time. A different take on "storefront churches." I wonder when that weirdness went out of vogue.

[Brock7]

This old farmhouse facing on Gratiot near Bringard [[between State Fair and 8 Mile) I think could possibly date from sometime between 1859 and 1870 if it was built by Xavier Bringard, the landowner according to the 1870 census and an 1876 map. A house is indicated about there on the 1876 map, although not on subsequent maps. The brickwork seems to me similar in style to both the 1875 Leesville house in post #16 and the first brick Church of the Assumption which was built in 1852. I had some better photos of it, but I can't find them now.

I'm afraid it's destined to become a parking lot for the owner's Lucky II Lounge next door - there are holes in the roof left unrepaired and the back porch has disappeared in the last two years. I wish someone could save it.

[Gistok]

Those storefronts on the church get me every time. A different take on "storefront churches." I wonder when that weirdness went out of vogue.

In the instance of Mariner's Church, the storefront was on the ground floor, and the Church was on the 2nd floor. I believe there's a similar type church scenario along East Jefferson near the Vanity Ballroom.

When they moved Mariner's Church in 1955, the storefront [[back side) now faces the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel entrance, while the backside [[church entrance) now has the lower level covered up due to the higher elevation of the Hart Plaza/former Ford Aud. area... and the 2nd story now has the entrance on that level. Also the stone tower was built in 1955.

[mikefmich]

Philetus Norris house on Mt. Elliot circa 1870

[renf]

Thanks for the nice comments about the Detroit1701 website. If you see things on that site that need to be corrected, please let me know. Or if you know of sites and buildings that should be added, please send me a message at: renf@umich.edu

[p69rrh51]

Well.... I'll take what Robert Hudson Tannahill left for Detroit over what Charles Lang Freer did any day...

Gistok I would like to add a different twist on Freer. First what Tannahill did for the DIA is way off the charts and I would never knock his contributions. Also Edsel Ford, while he could not stand up to his father I am glad he could tell those with brushes and white paint in hand where to stick it.

As for Freer, I had a good friend, newly married moves back to the area from Virginia. I took his wife on my tour of the city. Back then the Hecker Mansion was owned by the Smiley's and you could tour part of the house. On our way out of the house before I could say anything I was getting questions on the Freer home. From the moment she heard the name she started going on about how cool the gallery was in DC and that it was a must see for many on the east coast. Of course she had never heard our end of the story, but after getting a lecture from her I promised to visit the gallery the next time I was in DC. Well was I surprised when I went there! Unlike the Castle or the Air & Space Museum with their hustle and bustle the Freer is this very elegant place without all the families and group tours. When my wife and I toured the gallery we were impressed the patrons at the Freer were there to see the art in the museum and not there for something to do! The Peacock room was being discussed the same way we chat about it on here. I did have to mention the donation came from Detroit! After I left the building I started to understand why Freer donated the collection the Smithsonian. Even though we would love to have the collection here, the logistics in DC make it much easier for most to view the art in the gallery. If you have never been there I would highly recommend a visit.

[Gistok]

Thanks p69... I've been to the Smithsonian, but not to the Freer [[I went with a group of friends who were not the artsy type, so we missed the National Gallery as well). I always thought that the best setting for Freer's collection was the house that was built for it. I've been in there many times for Preservation Wayne [[now Preservation Detroit) meetings. A beautiful house... pity it's just used for offices and conferences today.

Also, I mention Robert Hudson Tannahill because when I was younger and visiting the DIA, his name would come up over and over and over and over again when reading the artwork plaques. He's relatively unknown outside of the DIA circles... but the artwork that he alone left for the DIA [[including examples from most all the masters) must be worth at least a billion dollars today.

One other thing p69... do you think that George Caleb Bingham's "Jolly Flatboatmen" [[one of the 1/2 dozen most iconic and important American paintings of the first half of the 19th century) will come to Detroit? Richard Manoogian bought it about a dozen years ago [[with the stipulation that it remain in the National Gallery for a set number of years). The reason I ask... is what would be the point of him buying it if it were to stay in Washington?

[p69rrh51]

Thanks p69... I've been to the Smithsonian, but not to the Freer [[I went with a group of friends who were not the artsy type, so we missed the National Gallery as well). I always thought that the best setting for Freer's collection was the house that was built for it. I've been in there many times for Preservation Wayne [[now Preservation Detroit) meetings. A beautiful house... pity it's just used for offices and conferences today.

Also, I mention Robert Hudson Tannahill because when I was younger and visiting the DIA, his name would come up over and over and over and over again when reading the artwork plaques. He's relatively unknown outside of the DIA circles... but the artwork that he alone left for the DIA [[including examples from most all the masters) must be worth at least a billion dollars today.

One other thing p69... do you think that George Caleb Bingham's "Jolly Flatboatmen" [[one of the 1/2 dozen most iconic and important American paintings of the first half of the 19th century) will come to Detroit? Richard Manoogian bought it about a dozen years ago [[with the stipulation that it remain in the National Gallery for a set number of years). The reason I ask... is what would be the point of him buying it if it were to stay in Washington?

Most likely he did not have room for the paintings at the time and was able to to "give in" to the National Gallery. I have seen a VERY small part of his collection and its mind boggling! The art actually rotates at his home on Windmill Pointe.

[p69rrh51]

Gistok, the other best setting for the Peacock Room could also be in its original London location.
If you are interested the Provencal-Weir House is open Friday 12-7-12 for the GPHS Christmas Party.

[Richard]

What is the story on this one?

[p69rrh51]

What is the story on this one?

The James Scott home. Here is a link to a good history of the home here.

http://www.detroit1701.org/JamesScottMansion.html

[Gistok]

Thanks for the history lesson p69!

In their comments about Cass Gilbert, I had always thought that Gilbert's greatest and most famous contribution to architecture was his 1913 built 792 ft. masterpiece... NYC's Gothic style Woolworth Building, which was the worlds tallest skyscraper for a dozen years.

[Brock7]

Since Gistok mentioned the Grant house:

Colonel James E. Pitman's recollections of Grant as a 27 year old army officer in Detroit

U.S. Grant and the Seven Ages of Washington By Owen Wister
In July, 1848, he left Mexico for Mississippi with his regiment. He was a brevet captain, and twenty-six years old. In August he was married. As quartermaster, the regiment’s new headquarters at Detroit should have been his post that winter; but a brother officer, ordered to Sackett’s Harbor, preferred the gayety of Detroit, and managed—one sees the thing to-day often enough—to have Grant sent to Sackett’s Harbor, and himself made acting quartermaster at Detroit. This meanness was righted by General Scott in the spring; and in later days Grant, having the chance to even things with the brother officer, did not take it, but stood his friend. In June, 1851, Sackett’s Harbor became regimental headquarters; and Grant was there for twelve months, when he was ordered to the Pacific by way of the Isthmus.

These seem to be the earliest photos of the house which is somewhat different to what it looks today.
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dpa1ic/x...88/dpa2688.tif
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/d/dpa1ic/x...89/dpa2689.tif

[Gistok]

Gistok, the other best setting for the Peacock Room could also be in its original London location.

Ah yes... but that London mansion appears to have been torn down for the "Princes Gate Estate" of multistory flats near Kensington.

[campbellsimon]

The City of Detroit is in the habit of tearing down abandoned buildings. I just hope that none of these beautiful structures get demolished. As Detroit recovers from this last recession, these old structures should be given attention as part of Detroit's real estate history.

[Pontiac6000]

Has the Grant house at the Fairgrounds been moved to Greenfield Village? It should be. Also, any really early 1700s and 1800s houses were long gone by the time the railroad, shipping, cigar and steel industries began to make their mark around the Civil War era. The best you'll find besides Corktown are whats left in the lower east side maybe 3 m each way around Elmwood Cemetery. Its really surprising the hipsters and preservationists did not call for saving the oldest first, esp since its whats left from urban renewal and the proximity to Eastern Mkt, etc. You cant really infill a historic neighborhood without saving it first.