Hideous Art Van house on the market - comments please!

[Hypestyles]

so where's mr. art van moving to?

[poobert]

Post pictures and a neighborhood to be fair. Can you get even 1/6 of what they're asking for this house?

Aren't you the poster constantly crying about the city but apparently stuck here and unable to move?

What crawled up your ass? You must be his mistress.

[noise]

What crawled up your ass? You must be his mistress.

That response would kill it on the school bus. Good work.

I just find the reactions to this house amusing when obviously nobody here lives in anything even close to as nice.

[Jason]

A typical ranch house is better than this house. Just because somebody threw a lot of money at something it doesn't mean it's nicer.

Who's better dressed? Someone who is wearing a sensibly put together outfit from normal department stores, or someone who is covered in ugly, oversized bling and decked out in as much fake gucci as they could get their hands on?

[p69rrh51]

That response would kill it on the school bus. Good work.

I just find the reactions to this house amusing when obviously nobody here lives in anything even close to as nice.

Very well stated! Also a family member installed the alarm system when the house was built. I called him and he said the quality of the materials and construction was quite good.
While the style of the home is not what I prefer, the dwelling is far better than the homes it replaced.

[bailey]

Very well stated! Also a family member installed the alarm system when the house was built. I called him and he said the quality of the materials and construction was quite good.
While the style of the home is not what I prefer, the dwelling is far better than the homes it replaced.

I was just trying to remember...what was there before Art Van built the house?

[p69rrh51]

Ugly 1950's homes of no redeeming quality.

[Patrick]

I do recall an article in the news maybe 13 years ago regarding the build quality of the home and how the roof was leaking in several places. I think Art Van's wife at the time was pissed and made it known.

[noise]

A typical ranch house is better than this house. Just because somebody threw a lot of money at something it doesn't mean it's nicer.

Who's better dressed? Someone who is wearing a sensibly put together outfit from normal department stores, or someone who is covered in ugly, oversized bling and decked out in as much fake gucci as they could get their hands on?

No, the typical brick ranch in a quiet part of a college town that I own is not as nice as this house. It's not nearly the property and not nearly the value. Tastes are subjective. Money is not.

Your clothes comparison is apples to oranges.

[toddsmith]

In my humble opinion that is a tacky mansion , it looks like it belongs in Vegas or the burbs of LA . No would will complain 15 years from now when it's time to tear that thing down .
and who's going to buy that ? But it shouldn't be to much of a shock , look how he dresses ? LOL

Detroit Dave, there is nothing humble about your shitty opinion. I can find a good handful of people that would "mind" if it was torn down…his family. The house holds years of memories for Mr. Van and the family, and many of you posting on this site need to take a look in the mirror. quite frankly, what is "tacky" is posting rude, senseless comments about a man that has done countless positive things for his community, and those less fortunate. And what exactly are you wearing right now, "Detroitdave"? Can bet your ass it's not Prada. Cheers.

[Gistok]

Well I guess we have an irate poster... likely a family member.

Welcome toddsmith... even though it wasn't a pleasant welcome.

Personally my feeling is that the Art Van mansion will be looked at fondly by many eastsiders as the place that had all the wonderful Christmas lights. It is indeed the ONLY mega mansion built in the Pointes in many decades.

Do I think it's hideous? Hardly... it's made of quality materials. And it is a product of its' times... no more dated than the Saarinen mansion or the Marcel Breuer Library in the Farms are a product of theirs.

From the street is does look elegant in a French mansard roof style. What it looks like on the inside is of course no ones business, since it's personal taste.

But I think that the folks on this forum are unduly harsh in their assessment. Perhaps a visit to some of the neauveau riche mansions in Silicon Valley or other points in California would show that the tasts in domestic mansion architecture have changed quite a bit, even though very little of it has been built in Michigan.

Of course nothing can compar to a Trumbauer mansion... but they were after all from another era.

When one compares the Art Van mansion to those absolutely horrible condo's that Henry Ford II built in place of the Roy D. Chapin mansion down Lakeshore Dr., or what replaced W. Hawkins Ferry's mansion closer to Vernier Rd., the Art Van mansion is downright palatial....

[MotorCityTrikes]

I wonder where they got their furniture?

[A2Mike]

I wonder where they got their furniture?

This is just tangential to the Art Van house and furniture question, but I've always been curious about Alfred Taubman's place in Bloomfield Hills. Taubman owned the world's premier auction house, Sotheby's, and had access to priceless museum pieces. I wonder what he put aside for his own house.

[bailey]

This is just tangential to the Art Van house and furniture question, but I've always been curious about Alfred Taubman's place in Bloomfield Hills. Taubman owned the world's premier auction house, Sotheby's, and had access to priceless museum pieces. I wonder what he put aside for his own house.

before or after he went down for defrauding customers of said auction house? Not that 7 million in fines was much of a penalty... I'm sure the sale of one or two purloined pieces would have taken care of it.

[Neilr]

This is just tangential to the Art Van house and furniture question, but I've always been curious about Alfred Taubman's place in Bloomfield Hills. Taubman owned the world's premier auction house, Sotheby's, and had access to priceless museum pieces. I wonder what he put aside for his own house.

I don't know anything about his house in Bloomfield Hills; but the Taubmans also live in a duplex apartment at 834 5th Avenue [[Rosario Candella, 1930). In the book High Rise Low Down, a friend describes the apartment as "a duplex of perfection, full of world class paintings: subdued, elegant neutral colors, the best Modiglianis, Renoirs, and Monets."

[A2Mike]

Sadly Detroit never had an extensive array of grand apartments like the 834 Fifth Avenue building that neilr mentioned. Apart from a handful of pleasant buildings on East Jefferson, Detroit's elite stuck to fine single family residences. In my own ideal Detroit there would have been some Candela or J.E.R. Carpenter buildings. Here are some pictures of 834 to consider.

[GUSHI]

Its a real nice building - I have family that live there

[knwb]

I don't know anything about his house in Bloomfield Hills; but the Taubmans also live in a duplex apartment at 834 5th Avenue [[Rosario Candella, 1930). In the book High Rise Low Down, a friend describes the apartment as "a duplex of perfection, full of world class paintings: subdued, elegant neutral colors, the best Modiglianis, Renoirs, and Monets."

Alfred Taubman house, 1485 Kirkway Rd, Bloomfield Hills. Virtualglobetrotting.com says it's an Alden Dow design, but I'm a little dubious as Zillow says it was built in 1965, where most of Dow's work [[to the best of my knowledge, feel free to correct me) was in the 1930s. Also, again correct me if I'm wrong [[p69, I'm looking at you), but I always thought the only Dow house in Bloomfield Hills was the [[gone but never forgotten) Saunders house on Orchard Ridge Road. That being said, it's clearly mid-century modern, not sure how all the "world class painting" and "subdued, elegant, neutral colors" would work there. Well, maybe the subdued neutral colors...

http://tinyurl.com/po2ero2

...And yes, I am working my way back through the archives.

[p69rrh51]

Alfred Taubman house, 1485 Kirkway Rd, Bloomfield Hills. Virtualglobetrotting.com says it's an Alden Dow design, but I'm a little dubious as Zillow says it was built in 1965, where most of Dow's work [[to the best of my knowledge, feel free to correct me) was in the 1930s. Also, again correct me if I'm wrong [[p69, I'm looking at you), but I always thought the only Dow house in Bloomfield Hills was the [[gone but never forgotten) Saunders house on Orchard Ridge Road. That being said, it's clearly mid-century modern, not sure how all the "world class painting" and "subdued, elegant, neutral colors" would work there. Well, maybe the subdued neutral colors...

http://tinyurl.com/po2ero2

...And yes, I am working my way back through the archives.

One of three Dow designs in Bloomfield Hills. Alden B. Dow passed away in 1983 and working up until the end. The house was designed for Lynn & Ruth Townsend in 1963.

[knwb]

One of three Dow designs in Bloomfield Hills. Alden B. Dow passed away in 1983 and working up until the end. The house was designed for Lynn & Ruth Townsend in 1963.

I had no idea he was still working that late into the century, thank you for the info!

I'll probably kick myself for not knowing [[or possibly forgetting), but where is/was the third house?

[p69rrh51]

I had no idea he was still working that late into the century, thank you for the info!

I'll probably kick myself for not knowing [[or possibly forgetting), but where is/was the third house?

St. George Greek Orthodox Church 45816 Woodward

[knwb]

Really? I never knew that one! Thank you yet again!!!

[kathy2trips]

That's flat-out magnificent. As the daughter, and granddaughter of builders who learned their craft in Europe, I appreciate the craftsmanship and thought that went into these structures. I cannot appreciate the "achievement" of cutting corners, copy-cat design and shoddy workmanship. You've basically achieved crap. Yeah, "50 Shades of Grey" made a boatload of money, but it's horribly written and loaded with structural errors. Same difference.

Please, Detroit, hang on to your treasures. Do whatever it takes. I live in Houston and they're talking about tearing down the Astrodome, for crying out loud! There are practically no Victorian homes left and 2 Victorian-era commercial buildings in the whole downtown. Early 20th century architecture is fast disappearing too.

It's true: you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone. Perhaps Joni Mitchell was thinking about Detroit when she wrote that.

[A2Mike]

A 12,000 sf place on Windmill Pointe [[in my mind much more desirable location and property) sold this summer for about 3 million after being on an off the market for years. I can't imagine it ever selling for asking price. Who knows though, maybe an athlete would? When I was growing up, GP was home to quite a few Tigers and Wings.

We all know what paragons of style, taste, and decorum professional athletes are.

[knwb]

We all know what paragons of style, taste, and decorum professional athletes are.

Just snorted coffee out my nose. Thanks for that.