Botsford Inn Restoration completed

[Lowell]

I caught this the other day and swung in to take some pictures. This 19th Century Tavern has been nicely restored by Botsford Hospital. Gone is the ugly motel-like addition and a decade of abandonment. I have no idea what it is being used for, does anyone know?

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[Detroitnerd]

Will it be used for weddings?

[Johnlodge]

Wow, I haven't been that way in awhile, that looks great. Clara Ford haunts that place and smacks the busboys on the behind.

[detroitbred]

I beleive that is is being used for offices, attached to the new cancer treatment center that is built along side of it. It is a lovely building isn't it? My parents wedding reception was at the inn. The barn that was on site was purchased by a private individual and moved...not sure where to.

[reddog289]

I think the barn went to the northern part of Farmington Hills.I went to a wedding reception there once.It is good to see the place saved.

[BotsfordFndn]

The Inn’s exterior was restored as part of the Botsford Hospital Cancer Center project. Now on to raising money to restore the interior. Our goal is to return the Inn as closely as possible to its appearance in 1925 when Henry Ford restored it. When it’s completed, first floor areas will be used for cancer patient and family support and educational activities, and The Botsford Foundation will occupy the second story. We've built a commemorative brick plaza in front of the Inn. For information about the brick plaza or to share a story about your connection with the Botsford Inn, go to: http://www.botsford.org/foundation/Botsford_Inn.html. The walls around the healing garden next to the Botsford Inn are built of stones from Clara Ford's rose garden walls.

[9936Sussex]

Beautiful restoration. Are the original furnishings/ decorative objects still available? It was a lovely place for dinner and wedding receptions. How wonderful that it will be used in a new way. I'm so happy to see it look so good.

[jerrytimes]

That place looks great/

[BotsfordFndn]

Unfortunately many of the valuable pieces were gone by the time Botsford Hospital bought the Inn. The remaining antiques are in storage, waiting until we've raised the money to finish the interior. It is a beautiful restoration. When you compare pictures from the '20s with pictures from this summer, they look identical except for the parking lot and the placement of the sign.

[R8RBOB]

I remember working there 20 years ago as a dishwasher when John Anhut was the "innkeeper." The Inn had a old style look to it but it was great that Botsford was able to return the Inn to what it looked like when the Fords owned it.

[BVos]

BotsfordFndn,

I too would like to commend you and the Botsford Hospital for preserving the Inn. I drove by the place for years when it was vacant and wondered what the story was on the place. A few years ago I heard the hospital would be renovating and then saw you get to work quickly [[with demolition that scared me, but then I realized you were reducing to the original structure). I must say the results, even with just the exterior work done, are quite impressive. You could have easily [[and probably more conveniently) demolished the whole thing since it's one of, if not the only, piece of pre WWII history left along that stretch of Grand River and made expansion of the hospital much more convenient and expanded the footprint of the hospital.

Again, thank you for taking all the extra and hard steps to preserve one of the last pieces of character along that stretch of Grand River.

[econ expat]

Since I lived nearby, I often walked around Botsford Inn after its closing. There did not appear to be any attempts for a few years to preserve or restore this part of history.
Family and friends worked there during the ownership of the Anhut family, then Creon's ownership, then again for Mr Anhut after foreclosure. It seemed as if there was still a great deal of antiques remaining after the closing.
Mr. Anhut was on the board of Botsford Hospital [[might still be?) and sold the Inn to Botsford. Reportedly the Inn was going to be used for resident's [[Dr's) housing or such, but it remained empty and rarely maintained until.... Botsford wanted to use the land for something else, the cancer treatment center.
Botsford had little choice but to preserve some of the Inn.
Public opinion could not be swayed to believe the entire complex had no historical value due to the additions over the years.
Alas, if only Botsford could get ownership of that apartment complex, they could have expanded even more, and the community would not miss that complex!

[BotsfordFndn]

We're working hard to raise the money to finish the project off. I think many people don't realize that the building dates back to 1836. It's remarkable to think that when the stagecoach lines were established, travel from the riverfront in Detroit to the Inn was reduced to a "mere" two-day trip!