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BY HAWKINS FERRY A SU.hurh In Good Taste

By Hawkins Ferry

Reprinted by Economee Service, In,c. from March, 1956 Issue, Michigan Society of Architects

CENTRA~ GR'OSS,EPOINTE PUBLIC UBRAR1 IJDIJRD IN ~;:OOD Tt\STt;

BY HAWKINS FERRY

THE npllnmg Yllarn of the eighteenth of It:. "elf]! th", ilhores of Lake St Cbir n~JClr ArntJ:,,'::i'Jn t0n~1'1 allraclt'd settlers in the Gl'Om8~' Gretu !i{; r;t \~fid areCI Eorly French farmers bmlt hap~ It III d'!f,~ihngs rtertr the lake both for acces:1 flvt:J11Vfj h~tlSO;g pr(IVtHl to 1:F'~ by cano,) cmd for a convenient water O;H;j "hn[lfll:'lg ;,\lpply TillS resulted in tho hou8e~ boing '.:md l"Jwns th~y together The land of eelen farm sIOnt Cl of l:vlr:q !bf1t j >d'l)' 'ixwnd!!1d from the lake far into the interior enlld by prohlbi!lYC' and m(ll1ilf}IlCll:,;/"' 111 n'lm1W strips, thus having originated C'o~tJ All thli1 er(l tl1'.1t prociuC'<)'d th~, tNm 'ribbon farm." hom,,!s Ul Y'Jl1l,,!llllq rmcl many thif,"'rJl ~'Te It an ()pprr.)p£:-:~t{) h thl' latter part of the nineteenth century mOln'3nt to rellvl11w,1tAthem ',:1$ mmthetl\; th'l mcreational value of the waterfront phenomena. Tf)cognized, and summer cottages took place of farmhouses; but Grosse On@ of the hut lluba\c:mlial ma:nslon~ in P)mte'f!) role as em isolated summer colony Grosse POlllte was thf>' Joseph H. Berry lrtllted only until the beginning of the house (l.) of 1882 on Lake Sh0l'f1 Rood by tWGrosse Pointe took with its ubiquitous verandas, fussy dll- place during an interesting period in the tails, and general complexity. development of American architecture. The With no formal arcrhltectural educatiO!n, VICtorian architects both in England and George D. Mallon had begun hlil! canter Ameriatt had adapted the country dwelling III Dl?trolt in 1873 in the offlce of H~mry T. the 'l'Elquirements of modern living; and Brullh. In 1£179he ioll1!1'dZachariah Ric!iiin academicians of the turn of the cen- partnofship. It wall a period in whil;1h had offered as their contribution Ct archltectil!, giving full reign to romcrnllc vocabulary chastened by a more whimsicality, were concocting all mf.fnner lonl\al professional education and a great- of architectural potpo\lrris. ii\lr photographic documentation of anti- <:Iuatian sources. There could have been no more propituoua momlitnt for the return to the Simplicity S,l;torching for formulas that would suit the crud Illild discipline of the Coloni,d pAlbert Kahn in made up 01 men trained in American archi- Detroit From 1906 to 1921 he wall llomor tectural schools. Baldwin had attended partner in the architecturaJ liml 01 Trow- 1l000tonTech and had subsequently worked brIdge and Ackl!Jrmo:nin New York. in the ollice 01 John Scott and Company In 1909 he built a house (6.) in Groll$'!l in Detroit while Stratton had graduated Pointe lor his brother, Luther S. Trowbridge Irom Cornell University. on jelferllon Avenulll on one 01 those typical A long way had been traveled Irom the long narrow lots 01 Fnmch origin extend- Berry house to the Baldwin house. The ing toward the lake. Since the flat terrain architects showed a much greater under- rooe only two or three feet above the lake. iIltanding 01 the principles that motivated it was necessary to build the basement the reoent Domestic Revival in England. above the ground lnel to keep it above The external design, responding to the Iree- the water table. ThE! consequent raising dnm of the internal plan, has acquired a of the main floor and jarrace has providllld 7 new absrract quality in the grouping of a better view across the lawn toward the masses and roqf forms, the concentration lake, a lactor whier. il3 W!!llJ provid$d lor 01 window areas, and the use 01 broad with ample fenestration. wall surfaces to create varying textural Although the medieval rool and gables effects. connote the influence of the English Domes- Stratton displays a kinship with Philip tic Revival, the dellign of this house is llIur- Webb and Norman Shaw in England in prisingly free and original. AlMlth$tioally, hill fondness for fine craftsmanship as an however, it falls far iIlhort of the AlglIl' antidote lor the cheap machine-made orna- house, and we must went lor Trowbridge's ment 01 the day. Like them he employed later houses lor greater ctsl'IUranOeand archeologicol detail in his work yet won facility. able Ireely to combine seemingly dis- ~rman~bom Albert Kahn lacked the for- parate elements into 0 harmonious whole. rom education of Stratton or Trowbridge The oppressive formality 01 the lake siM but he had absorbed a grEtqt deaf during 01 the Baldwin house, as it origInally ap- the fourteen years he work.$d in the oUlce peared, contrasts notably with the rustic of George D. Mason in D"trolt. At twenty- charm of the entrance side. Later, when one his conceptI were broadened by a the house was occupied by Frederick T. trip to Europe he took on a scholarship he 8 Murphy, this was remedied by alterations won Irom the ma<;Taz.tnEil"American Archi- and the addition to the west of a large tect" These two experienOIMlengendered two-storied library by the qrchitect Robert tn him a prolound rllsp&ct and admiration O. Derrick. Taking the place 01 the earlier for traditional arehiteaturs which he rl!!- restricted veranda, a broad garden tElr~aoe toined all his life in spite of the indepen- now overlooks the streich of lawn with dent course which he pursued in industrial its ancient apple Irees surviving Irom a archllecturt;l. At flUlt manlleating Richard- pre-existing farm. sonian tendencies in his residential archi- tecture, he soon was to follow the prin- Baldwin and Stratton had shown them- cipals of the Domestic Revival in England. selves abreast of the most progressive currents in commercial architecture in the The house (7.) which he built for HeIUlYB. creation in Detroit of the J. Sparling Com- Joy in 1910 on Lake Shore Road was cer- pany store 01 1906, revealing clearly the tainly one 01 his leS!!traditional residences, influence 01 Sullivan's G.age Building, At that time Mr. Joy was president 01 the which was completed seven years earlier Packard Motor Car Company. In 1903 he in Chicago. Therefore, it is, 'not surprising had asked Mr. Kahn to construct the lirst to lind this firm blazing new trails in the Packard factory in Detroit. It wall the lirst field of domestic architecture. reinforced concrete factory in America. 9 A case in point is the Frederick M. Alger houlle (5.) 01 1908 next door to the Baldwin 6. LUTHER S. TROWBRIDGE HOUSE house in Grosse Pointe. From the entrance Trowbridge & Ackerman. Architects side the house resembles a low, rambling 7. HENRY B. JOY HOUSE one-and-a-hall story English larm house, Albert Kahn. Architect although the historical relerence is very slight. On the lake side of the house it is 8. COUNTRY CLUB OF DETROIT apparent that the main concern 01 the Albert KClhn.Architect architect has been to provid$ the principal 9. JOHN S. NEWBERRY HOUSE rooms of the house with the maximum Albert KClhn.Architect glass area toward the southern lake ex- posure. Banks 01 French doors open upon 10. RUSSELL A. ALGER HOUSE a terrace that extends the full length 01 ChClrles A. Platt. Architect 10

Michigan Society of Ar<::hltectQ 'I'll" frame permitted the use of largo metal imported from England. It rlJil'qulrlllill no i3trillching of the imagination to lllll1l OOli~ffl to OYW,;t8nOaO¥f tnt.lI. during this period, there is an amllogy It weln l1al\m11 at bllh'filjJ)n Kahn's domestic and indulltricll of Cnol"I",,, A Pioil arc:hllecture. In both he Waf) thinking in havl'! I? Potrllli> terms of a simple and straightforward been [email protected]!lll,g f:<::l£l"mllfiil l!!1lth htmd. slructurID penetrated by large window som~~ unci hc:dHrn Hon;:Hf,;iZarM'~;f~ Of)l!lningsat regular intervals. hous,~;; In hI!! 1:I':1douldoml ImJ\1fsJ! Llklilthe Alger houso and the Trowbridge wllh C1 vast ltallan vlikl for Harold M~COI" house, the Joy house exposes a long un- mlck m Lah Foreat lIlinolli; and by 1910 interrupted, amply-fenestrated facade to he h(ld completilld '''The Moomng$" (10.) lor the lake view. The symmetry and horizon. RUIIHI1 JIL Alger on the nhoreii of Lake) tal emphasis provide a certain classic Saint Clair dIgnity and repose; yet the simpll'l and Platt had studied tn blil an tlrlist at tnlil unaffected architectural treatment bears National Acad€1myelf Dli'llign in New York only slight reference to Georgian pr~- and the Ecole des BIll(lUX Arts in PaWl; clldenl. and the house remains lilssenlially but an excursion to Italy in 18S2 to study Umble. Renaisllance g':rrdenll with hill brother, who Basically similar in concept yet on a larger was a landscCtpl:larchit/F,lcl,made him de- scale was Kahn's Country Club (8.) of 1907, cidlil to dtlVote his life to architecture. Two which served as a nucleus for the social years later appeared his book "Italian life of early Grosse Pointe. Located on the Gardens," whit:h revEH:dllhis undlllTJ~tand. sUe of Mrs. Horace Dodge's present house, Ing of the relationship of architecture and it struck a note of monumental simplicity landscape gardening. "From the Renailil- that offers a refreshing contrasl to the sance buildem" writliell aue of hill) bio- masquerading architectural extravaganzas graphers, he has learned thl'l lJllslIonthat that were to follow in the twenties and "villa" connotes a houlI$ cmd gardens, thirlills. The large rectangular mass of devil$ed as a unity for the enjoyment and the building is relieved by a cenlral par. comfort of the owner." tico above which a projecting hipped roof As the site (11.) chornen for tll", Alger house is supported on brick piers. This portico was one of the highest pie<:'ellof ground is ingeniously lied in with a screened ter- along the lake mhOI'll!,the natural varioticm race that extends the full length of the in ground levels has been taken advan- elevation. The modernity of Kahn's design tage of to produoe the m~t charming and its adaptation to the lake sile make landscape effects. E1tending from onlll' this building unique of its kind for the of the latera! loggicrll, a pl:lrgQla ties the period; and it is to be regrellerd that it house to Its surroundings and servell as a was demolished because a new building dividing Hne bllllween the formal gardens nearer Ihe golf course was considered in- to the north cmd the abrupt slope toward dispensable. Ihe lake on the south. During the early years of his career Albert There is a contrast betwefl'n the verlleal Kahn engaged as an associate Ernest emphasis of the entrance facade with itll Wilby, who was born in England and exquisite doorway and pediment d!lltails in oo.ucated at Wesley College, Harrogate. Btone and iron and the horizontal sweep Working in Kahn's office, Wilby was re- sponsible for the design of the fohn S. of the lake faccrde (12,) where every effort Newberry house (9.) of 1911on Lake Shore is made to take advantage of thIDeom- Road. "It has always seemed to me," said manding vieW with French doom and iron Wilby some years later, "that the mental balconies. approach to architecture is even more im- In every way Platt hWl so subtly and so portant than the malerial one, if we re- tastefully etdaptEld the Italletn Renetissance gard architeoture as the most noble and ideal to local conditions that his housell Il'Iostexpressive of all the arts." As applied almost seen\ indigenoull. "By nature and to the Newberry house, this statement re- training a Traditionalist" says an admir- presents a new orientation toward an ing chroniclltr, "Platt has transcended architecture that was to be regarded as a tradition by his individuality and charm." timeless symbol of the di~ily and reline- Il'Ient of formal living. Turning from Renaisaance Italy to Rococco France for his inspiration, Charles A. Platt The emphasis upon freedom of planning built the Henry Stephens house (13.) on and adaptation to sile that had been so Lake Shore Road in 1913. More restrained apparent in the Alger and Joy houses was than the Russell Alger house. it achieves forgollen. The rooms are qrranged in for- distinction through a simplicity of design mal axial relationships w.ith the living- and refinement of detail. French doors are room, dining-room, and terrace facing accompanied by graceful iron grille-work northward toward lawns and formal gar- railings; while keystones, string-course, dens instead of toward the southern lake and stone panels beneath the upstairs exposure. windows contrast with the Flemish bonded Allhough there is a pronounoed historical evocation, Wilby has not followed any 11. Garden view fixed stylistic formulas. True artist that he was, he has blended various elements 12. Lake side to form a unique whole. Basically the house is Georgian, but the stucoo walls 13. HENRY STEPHENS HOUSE and red roof tiles are not typically Geor- Charles A. Platt, Architect gian, The steep roof, with its flaring eaves, and rounded dormers, s El ems almost 14. TRUMAN H. NEWBERRY HOUSE French. On the interior, details of the high. Trowbridge & Ackerman. Architects Ceilinged rooms are Georgian and Jaco- bean. Distinguished in its beauty of pro- IS. D. M. FERRY. JR. HOUSE portion and refinement of detail, the New- Trowbridge & Ackerman, Architects

Michigan Society 01 Architects brlckwork It ill noteworthy thllt th!il driviil' lions '\frer\\! tlUtla'l'ied >;my approach and entranc~) court aril1lat tionll, in Hl,Sll 11m end of the house and do not mtEiirfl1lre (end tho land with the lake view To Hill rear 01 the bouse is a glazed loggia o'ilillrlt)oldng In 1914 i:'Q,wbr1dl10 lormal gardenll. plf!led a am:f.l house A generation earlier in England Norman Cove, Long 1l3kmd Shaw had discovered that the Georgian In l:llaborate art:heok,qilzal iiltyle, an its direct and sensible ration. and wood ality, was much more in keeping with the modern mentality them the erratic After the iavishn!l:ss of th~ Nlilwb(my and Tudor style which he had favored earlier. Prat! hOUU011,th!'b simphclty of thE~D. M. j'he Georgian style had been ull"d as a Forry. Jr. hollSlI' (15.) in Grol'lil'1!J Point!]) point of departure in the Joy and John comet'! aa a rlllr€tshmg surpl'lSf<) irow- 111 Newberry houses in Grosso Pointe; but bridge and Ack~lnncm complill~d tlum hmwo the Truman H. Newberry house (14.) of in 1915 on a chOIce lIite betwllflln Jefferson 1910 on Lake Shore Road is considerably Avemlll and the lake. Something of thi!l more Georgian in feeling in spite of its directness of the earlier Trowbridge hour,ll rather free use of the style. The architects, has been recaptured yel with the inCr'~aSllcl Trowbridge and Ackerman, reveal a kin- discipline thot rl!i>,sul!Eldfrom having worked ship with Platt in the restrained elegance with the historical styl€ils in the interim, of their conception and in their emphasis Although the Ffllrry houlilEi!may be clctllsi- upon landscaping. It is very possible that lied as Early English Renaill!lJClnCEl,yet his- the Truman Newberry house was directly torical detail ha! been minimized, and inspired by a Georgian house which Platt there is a freedom in dl!l>signthat rllvealli built in Glen Cove, Long Isiand for John a ciolile kinship to the English Domestic Re- T. Pratt; for, by a curious coincidence, it vivctl in its later phase. Both aensitivity was about this time that Trowbridge and and assurance are displayed in the rythmic Ackerman were building a house for a placing of window openings and the skill. brother, George D. Pratt, in Glen Cove. ful articulation of the plan. C&rlctinly the academicism of the New. The prinoipal concern of th& architects has blllny house is a far cry from the rather been to take advantctge of th. lake fron. 17 experimental Trowbridge house which the tage and the beautiful trees already on the architects had built a y&ar earlier; yet, properly. The site here is stmilor to the upon closer study, it is apparent that the sil& of the Trowbridge house next door, Newoorry house, notwithstanding its for- the land being at almol1lt the !lame level mality and the erudition of its archeolo. all the lake. Therefore it was neCl1>liIsaryto gical detail, is surprisingly free in plan and build the entire basement above ground extraordinarily well adcrpted to the site. to avoid trouble with ground Water. The The landscape architect, WlIliCQllPitkin. Jr., house has be-en given the appearance of was called to the assil\.tance of the archi. standing down on the grout:\;d by a terrace tecls; and, from the beginning, the land. and Ilecondary terrace on th. lake aide scaping and the architecture wer& closely and by a cleVer arrangement 01 fore court coordinated in an overall plan. Th& drive- On the streel lIide. ,way was looped around to the rem of the One of the many charming feotul'Elliiof the house so as not to interfere with the view. Farry hOU/,leis the long, IItraight elm.bor- At the south end of th& house the music dered driveway (16.) at the end of which room opened Upon the lawn of the so- may be caught a glimpae of the entrClnce called music court which adjoined a wood- bay with its hand:$ome RencUlll'Onc&door- ed area to the west crnd opened toward way. The pinkish-red brick of the drinwcry the lake on th& ecrsl. Fqcing eastward picks up thGi)red of the tile roof, which, 18 toward the front lawn ant;! the lake, the in turn, contrasts agr~bly with the while other principal rooms of the house opened stucco walls. Here thlll architlilcts hctVe upqn a delightful terrace, at each end of us&d color and texture for their own value which was a glazed loggia. A lofly Palla- ralh&r than for any antiquarian connota- dian doorway, opening from a dramatic tion. tWQ-storied hall, formed a hctndsome cen- Although th& plan of the Ferry house is tral motif of the terrace fa~ade. very similar to the plan of the Newberry On the interior of the house downstairs house, the formal symmetry and elegance rooms were paneled in butternut, Italictn have been r&laxed. On th& lah side of walnut and mahogany. Most of the rooms the house the principal rooms open through Were in the Georgian style; but for the a series of French doors upon a broad sake of variety, the music room was in the Inviting t&rrace which is flanked by two Italian Renaissance style. This was char. bays contaj"ing glctzed loggias. Below the act&ristic of the flexibility of the eclectic terrace sweeps a Vctst expanse (17.) of crrchitecture of that perla I! in which there lawn where enormous ancient &lms and was, according to a contemporary de- maples frame ctn enchanting view of the sCription of the house, an ellort "to secure lake. the impression of the antique without any- 19 where endeavoring to imitate." However the Newberry house was far more than a mere evocation of antiquity or a display 16. Driveway of luxury. In the beauty of Its proportions and the subtle poetry of Its articulation 17. View from terrace it was a true masterpiece. 18. ELMER D. SPECK HOUSE One of the ironies of modern civilization is Albert H. Spahr. Architect that often the most b&autl!ul crectlions are the most perishable. After Mr. Nt1wberry's 19. JOSEPH B. SCHLOTMAN HOUSE death in 1945, the house was offered •.,Jr Albert H. Spahr. Architect sale. Private buyers were discouraged oy the prohibitive maintenance costs of such 20. HARRY N. TORREY HOUSE an establishment; and clubs or organiza- John Scott. Architect 20 MIchigan Society of Architects 1I.IW•••••••• I!.!!IIIILllIii ••••• Jd!llli!lllU4•••• 02.ll!IJIUIII •••• !liIIUaw•• ;;.i.llilliiii__••••••• WIlll--...•••••• II.I_i ••• lliliilil'&lilll'I;•• i".', I

At side of th(1lhouSlilli$ a formal garrllSln hld out by Mrs Elliln Shipman. lcmdscaping lor the ~ntile IlLltcrlewalJ F}ilntl by W,lliam Pitkin, Jr., but lultzr mtmy lrmovCltiorls W(lle made. Nal smce the McMillan house 01 lllBS hml C,f:orge D. Mallon beum active in Grosse Pointe. His Fremont Woodrull noulle of 1917 all Jefferson Avenue goez even fur- lhllr than the Ferry houllE!in avoiding hill- lH lorical allusionll. A llmaller and more com- pact house, its present-day appeal lililll in it~ functional L-shaped plan and its simple Whatse Pointe ~came More academic in his approach than Trow. 110 crowdllld, lile was mOl'e leillurely. The bridge or Mason, Albert H. Spahr of Pitts- novelty 01 suburban Ule had not yet worn burgh designed three large houses on off. and arcllltElcts werG more experimental l.ake Shore Road: the Elmef D. Speck and more responllive to the lIurroundinga. house (18.) of 1914 was a picturesque half- Greater advantage WClJl tabm 01 the lake timbered dwelling in the Tudor style; while view and housell WerEl more intimately the Joseph B. Schlolman house (19.) 01 1915 linked with terraces, gardens, and lawnll. and the Emory L. Ford house of 1916 were Whether the owner's tct.~toran to funotiO'nal in the Early English Renaissance style. The simplkity or the finer nuanc:eli O'felegance, Ford and Speck houses have already been there was no mistaking his genuine del1lre demolished. to enjoy the delights of oountry living. 22

The Harry N. Torrey house (20.) of 1913 by After the lirst World War, the race WClJl on. John Scott and Company brought turn-of- Unprecedented prosperity brought a host the-century elegance to Lake Shore Road. of new fortunes. Magnifioence vied with Prototypes may be found in the Italian magnifioence, but the spirit of the initial Palladian palaces which R. M. Hunt and impetus WCIllgone. The trlifnd toward origi- McKim, Mead, and White built for the nality had exhausted itsecl!and the tempta- Vanderbilt family in the nineties. These tion remained to further exploit historioal houses typify the formal academic ap- plausibility. A generation that Hollywood proach which these Eastern architects in. had transported to the courts of Henry vnr troduced to America as a result of their and l.ouis XV wenl now in a potiition to reo studies at the 'Ecole des Beaux Arts in lIurrect this pseudo-historioal atmosphere Paris. in theit own homes. The time was ripe to John Scott was born in England and came Ilatisfy yearningll lor th€l splendours of to Detroit with his father while still a young older oiviliz(l,ti<:ms.Being krrgelyan Anglo- man. He worked in the office of his futher, Saxon community, GroSlle Pointe lli>Clined23 William Scott, and later for a while with heavily on the British legacy but Wl;lS not Louis Kamper and Arthur Scott, his brother, immune t'Oan occasional Gttlllc s:eduction. in the firm 01 Scott, Kamper, and Scott. The To the rugged bWliness leaders IlpawMd letter firm of John Scott and Company was by the boom of the twenties the wchl. responsible for the Roman magnificence of tecture favored by thlll rising meraant!le the Wayne County Court House in Detroit. families of Tudor Enlgalld seemed most At this time Wllliam Reed.Hill was an appropriate. They could well afford its associate 01 Scott. Educated at the BostOn ornate detail and picturesque eccentrioity. Technical School he was an ardent de- For them the massive waihl, cavernous in- votee of the Italian Renaissance. teriors, and hercrldic devices of the Tudor style undoubtedly conveyed a mell!lQge of Within the limits of a formal style, tha awesome mosculine dignity and prestige. architects have striven to adapt the house But the debacle of 1929 hastened the end to tha lake site by the introduction of of these dreams of grandeur; and, during French doors opening upon a terrace and the sobering thirtiel1, GrossEI Pointers in- 24 some rather incongruous terminal loggias. creasingly fell bock upon the dillCfeet good The two-storied Corinthian portico seems manners of the Georgian style. unralated to the house proper because its The orientation toward greater historical ornate entablature does not tie in with verisimilitude became apparent in the work any corresponding entablature on the of many architects early in the twenties. house proper. Neverthelass the Torrey The name of William B. Stralton appears house is a notable attempt at formal em. again as the architeot of the Julian Harrls phasis on a house that is more closely re- house (22.) of 192.4 on Windmill Point lated to the other houses of the period than Drive. A designer of such integrity could is evident at first glance. never be merely a picture-book copyisl; Another votary of the Renaissance mode and, although he employs correct Tudor was German-born Louis Kamper. The facility with archeological detail that he had cultivated during eight years in the 21. MURRAYW. SALES HOUSE office of McKim, Mead, and White was Louis !Campef. Mchltect brought to fruition in a series of Detroit 22. JULIAN HARRIS HOUSE residences. William B. Stfatton. Mchitect The Murray W. Sales house'(21.) of 1917 on 23. WILLIAM B. STRA'n'ON HOUSE Jefferson Avenue in Grosse Pointe shows William B. Sl1'atton. Afchitect him to be breaking away ftom strict aca- demic discipline to greater simplicity. Here 24. Gcrrden side the Italian Renaissance villa is adapted to 25. RALPH H. BOOm HOUSE northern climate by the introduction of Mcrrcus R. Burroughs. Afchitecl

Michlqan Sooiety of Architects are a1waY!1 l't'lstr'1in!!;rl to em oVl!lra!1 iw:v;pend~mt abstract d(;""llgn HI\) hmJ !rJ1,,,n \':lavan- of th<:lbrrnkn of window~ c!l'Jlilcton". of the Tudor style to ctmple !flnlwtr:1tion toward the !lollltil~rn lake p(\1JUrI'L tfll;1 r",d hI!') roof 'rhat Strallan chafed under tho cumb",r. panoply of fauhion is l!lvid~nt in tnl'l 1'11;1I,"(II1Y AW,lf£il contrc:wt between tho Harris dwelling and Imnmoslly of the Ih!l Stratton house (23.) he built on Three archltect pn.l(l~mt:!y bricks as th€l mrltt,rHlI instead of Mlld by twillt!!>d Eiaroque roof and its numreous bays and porches (;oiumna and illurmounted by a Madonna are given the fullest plastic expression with in a niche In thlil library ill a m!ildillVal lllllsterful orchestration. All is harmony corner fireplace wilh a conical hood Other where there might have been chaos; and picturesque details are the wrought iron over all is suffused the warm glow of the railings and balconi<"ls and the colorful variegated brown and beige tones of brick: tiles on the staIrs. and tile. Clearly there is no attempt to lallow preconceived stylistic formulas; but The skillful way thl!lse detailll havo been Mediterranean memories are evoked by incorporated in tho overall de3ign adds to the rambling tile roofs and balconies. the picturesque ensembll'l and preV"ilntil them from being mere stage accllIsoorilils; Installed inside the house art!! two beauti- and the romantic atmosphere is further en. ful old paneled doors that Mr. and Mrs. hanced by the varying scale of the rOO-IlIll Stratton brought back from Spain. Here, and the pleasing way which they OJ:llIIll too, may be found examples of the ille. up through French doors upon intimat€Jl work created by Mrs. Stratton, one of De- gardeml or stretchell of lawn. 27 troit's leading ceramacists. The who I e house, with its distinctly personal flavor, But Hugh Keyes did nol linger long in the was a triumph of free expression in an valem of TUScany. He was to try him hand age that was becoming increasingly sub- at the Tudor, Early French Renail>sonCe, servient to the dictates 01 the past. Georgian, Regency and eVllm the Modt!!rn Iltylcs; but the D&an house was perhaps On the other hand, the Ralph H. Booth him high water mark in charm and in- house (25.) of 1924 on Washington RQad genuity of dli!'sign. fl!,lls into alignment with the dertva:t:jYe Bryant Fll,1lmingill pOl!l!tiblybi!lst known in tendencies of the day. Its architect, Marcus Grosse Pointe for thEi'many fine gardens R. Burroughs, had formerly been associated he has creat",d thf.!'re. However, he is reo with Stratton and Baldwin. His eariler Sid- sponsible for both house and garden Or! nllY T. Miller house on Beverly Road and the Wesson Sey-burn flstcxte of 1924 on feci- his Grosse Pointe Private School reveal his ferson Avenue. An architect of the older indebtedness to Stratton and indirectly to generatIon, he carried on the tradition of the English Domestic Revival. This lnllu- Charles Platt and Alexander Trow-bridge enoe is still felt in the Booth house, but in the patrician r!\lfinement of hill work ostensibly the trend is toward greater for- and in his emphasilil upon the integration mality and antiquarian detail. The twisted of architecture and iandscape architecture. 28 Baroque columns that adorn the entrance A product of the C()rnt1lUUniV'ElrsitySchool of this Early English Renaissance house of Architecture, he cO'rried on his practiclll not only reveal the erudition of the archi- in Wyoming, New York., whlllre he received tect but also do much to suggest the taste oommissions to delJ>ign rail.idencem and of the owner. country estates throughout the midwe:;rt. Ralph H. Booth was one of the great art The Sey-burn property is one of th01!lenar- patrons and collectors of Detroit. He was row strips of land stretching back: from President of the Detroit Arts Commission the lake which are so characteristic in and, during his tenure of office, was re- Grosse Pointe. The architect has ingeni- sponsible more than any other man for ously utilized this area in creating a the construction of the Detroit Art Institute French house and gardens. The house is in 1922-1927. located near the lake and is approached by a handsome long straight driveway The Booth house was a veritable museum (27.) which passes firs! through a wooded in the tradition established in the East by area and then through Cl tunnel-like allee Frick, Widener and Whitney. Two paneled of sycamore trees, on each side of which rooms from English Renaissance dwellings were inccrporated in the house; while the seventeenth century Florentine brocatelle on the walls of the living-room was a suit- able background for paintings by Bellini, 28. CHARLES A. DEAN HOUSE Boltrallio, and Cranach. More contem- Hugh T. Keyes. Architect porary tastes were rewarded in the Music Room with a superlative collection of 27. WESSON SEYBURN HOUSE French Impressionist canvases. Bryant Fleming. Architect One of the most prolific and versatile architects of the eclectic period in Grosse 28. Entrance court Pointe was Hugh T. Keyes. He studied architecture at. Harvard and worked in 29. Lake side Albert Kahn's office until the first World War. After the war he opened his own 30. JULIAN BOWEN HOUSE office in Detroit. Wallace Frost. Architect

Mlchiqan Society 01 Architects ,~ C1 hIgh walL To lhl'l rlqht em: ';I::rrdew] whl!lre cllppod fnlll w(llli:s, g'llDmc'ttlC flow~r bodl] , and :lklluclr1 capture the fkJvour of eilghtl!ll:luth cl!lntil~Y r'rnnce.

FqClng' a cobblemtono <.:ourt-yard th\~ end of the dnvf;wrJY is the mgtro:m~ld. facadE! of the how]e. llitor a French chattlau of the cighteonth C~ll1tury,it exhibits a fm,) feelJng for drjlml and IIjxturo The formed !ltono portico ~m- closing graceful curved steps stand~ out agamst the gray brick of the main mrmi1 of the house with itl'! lighter groy bw::li: Onel; c1qrlln th.::! G,,'o;'glan to :ll Ill; own m one of tll", mor~\ Impo,:\lrig window architraves Also the balulltradilS moml of L<:ll~ll Shol'e Road Roy D. Rurmounting the portico and at the bOStl of the ground floor windows contrast pleas- Chapin houSE! (35.) 01 1927 by John RllE!]1l1 ingly with the fragile wrought iron railing POpel. it all the of the entrance stops. On the less fornml roqulllltE\~ of tante oJej1(xncl'l,yot a comparmon WIth Truman Newberry house lako side (29.) of the house French doors opening upon a broad terraca take advan- of 1910 makoro it $'~fii}m rather iitoreotyped. lage of the lake viow and breezes. Referring to the Chapin howse, Henry RI,!,s- The Seyburn estqte is no mere academic iilell Hitchccx;k "Thll' liking for forma- exercise in a formal historic stlye. With re- lity pelrllll.lted in twenties, finding ~l!> markable sensitivity to design crnd detail. pr~S$lon in a monumlffintal Colonial ullually the architect has created a synthesis of called Georgicm Virginicrn o:s well as architecture and landscaping of extra- English modell$ provided specific proto- ordinary beauty and charm. types, traditional craftllmcTnshlp wa'll emu- lated, and the imprecalsion !lQught wall one Not all those of Gallic persuasion were of digmty rath!!)r than llIplendour. Finll prepared to indulge In an establishment eighteenth century furniture ea!!ily grouped on the scale of the Seyburn estate. Luckily made the interiors comfortable all wl$lllcrs 32 there remained the crlternative C'f the rus- handsome," tic French manoir with its steeply-pitched Broaux-arts troinl;>darchitect Pope had Elarn- 1'00fs and its inevitable round tower. An ed in New York an enViable reputation endeavor In this direction is the JuUcm He ho:d numbered among his clients Bowen house (30.) of 1927 on Jefferson Ogden Mills and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, Avenue by Wallace Frost, a former Kahn Jr, Loter he was to build the Jefferson partner and product of the University of Memorial and the Nationo:l Galllary in Pennsylvania School of Architecture. He WClllhington. Upon his d'iifa:th,in 1937, h$ has achieved a rather picturesque effect, Wall describ0d <;j:i! ho:vinq bfiiiE'non "amiable which, however, suffers somewhat from and elegant gentlaman." Tha !lame! writ~r too great a scattering and diVersification of assures us that hill work Wall not "ofl.,ct@d window openings. On the interior of the by the style variously called Funcllonal- house the Gallic mood completely vanishes ism, moderniiHtl, Inte>rnationalism, WhOilllll in favor of modern comfort. father was Frank Lloyd Wright who" If Wallace Frost used the French forms for gro:ndfath&r was Sullivan." their value in creating exterior plastic ef- Pope had built a vast Tudor hous*, for fects, Columbia-educated Robert O. Derrick Stuelrt Duncan in Newport in 1914, Hilre was more intent upon capturing the French there wetS, according to Georgl1ll Edgell, spirit with characteristic details. U-shaped "a straightforward acceptance of Tu~or in plan, his Edwin H. Brown house (31.) of forms, frankly archeological. but repeahng 1926 on Lake Cour! strikes a note of re- no known historic monument." Reminill- strained yet charmingly intimate French cent of Pope's work is the fo:bulous Allred Classicism with its Mansard rool, French G. Wilson house 01 1927 in Rm.:hell:er, windows, and wrought iron work. If one Michigan by the Detroit architects, Smith. were to look for a flaw, it might be found Hinchman, and Grylls. in the somewhat awkward placing of the round tower between the house and the This firm's Country Club of Detroit (36.) of garage. 1926 in Grosse Pointe is a testimony of tho wide social accepfance of this extra- Without doubt the style of architecture vagant style during the increa~ingly pros- which has been found to lend itself most perous penod of the late twenhes. readily to the unpretentious and Informal manner of American living is the American The Tudor style is used very freely in the Colonial. Influenced by the owners' nos- design 01 the Country Club with emphasis talgia for the weatherbeaten charm of upon picturesque roof lines and upon a their old shingled summer residence at warm texture created by variegated slate, Easthampton, Long Island, Derrick created brick, and stucco surfaces. In spite of its the Ledyard Mitchell house (32.) on Ridge Road in 1926. Quite aside from any inspir- ation that may have been derived from the Long Island original, the latter-day 31. EDWIN H. BROWN HOUSE suavity of the Mitchell house owes much Robert o. Derrick. Architect to the legacy of Stanford White. 32 LEDYARDMITCHELLHOUSE Derrick called again upon the informal Robert O. Derrick. Architect charm of the Colonial for the Grosse Pointe 33. GROSSE POINTE ClUB Club (33.) of 1927. It is rewarding to com- Robert O. Derrick. Architect pare this with Albert Kahn's Grosse Pointe Country Club built twenty years earlier. 34. HARLEYHIGBIE HOUSE Both are well-planned and both provide an George D. Mason. Architect elevated terrace overlooking the lake. 35. ROY D. CHAPIN HOUSE However, it Is apparent that Kahn strove John Russell Pope. Architect 35 Michigan Society of Architects ""J!d{mt theatncality, lhi~ lltylll :)f (~rc:hJ. tt'cturfJ :H1lmnz well fluited lor ti\H::h a bUlld- with llll brtXld window mmblinq plan, and long g(xl1ery for mteTlQr cm:ula-

!r, thi:1 confident period cr fllw private in. dlvldualfl could a~pir€l to the r'l:x~r:iou~ mtfJtprl~tatwn, magnificence of the Tudor tradill(nl fer tradltl!;m 01 tlc!,eCI1l:1sxrL their own dwellingll In 1929 thlil Edsel B. m Ih" int6lrim With Ford house (37.) wam built on Lak~ Shor", tr,,'h:rtuu]nL Hoad Alter Mr. Ford's dl'll:rth in 1943 th'D Tudor to tho houme wew unsucct?!lllfully offered for sale! Kahn's design lor lh<;J Alvan Macaul!}y A brochure published at this time stat!):;:' houll~ (Sll.) cf 1930 Ol! Lake Shor!! Rond "When Mr and Mrs Ford decided to build 15 heltter mtl:lqratllci pln"llbly b'fcllu~,e Ihlil 36J thIS Lake Shore residence they proeeeded roqulHllnenhl w()ro not cClmplex lOr to carry out two basic id~las. They wanted ctlClTlwndmg It is Inur@ In Ime WIth tho a modest and picturesque horne-not a usual conc!lpt of the larger Tudor munor palace or fortrel'l13-and they wilnted !Is how;l)s, yet al!lJ therOl3ii, a cOfilifiderabl'ii architecture to reproduce faithfully the frot>dorn in thl:l dm'llgn. boEdsel Ford was building his phenomenon can have nO part, in the house, his father, Henry Ford, was bring- manifestation Qf the older and elernal ing across the Atlantic a 5000 ton Cots wold unity." He believed that, "all art of the world came Into being under the religious cottage and putting it up again, stone by stone, in Greenfield Village, that early impulse" and that the only valid secular American community which he created. "In art is derived from religious sources. seeking to trace the development of the Therefore it is understcllldable that the American home," says the elder Ford's Tudor style with its Gothic origins should biographer ,"Mr. Ford resolved to go to have met his qualifications for domestic England for one that would illustrale that archi tecture. from which the early forefathers migrated To enter the Backus estate is to transport to New England shores. He selected a oneself back to sixteenth century England. 39 shepherd's home in the Cotswold hills." Thus in pursuing a purely historical ob- Jective Henry Ford had inadvertently in- 36 COUNTRY CLUB OF DETROrr fluenced the architecture of his time if we Smith. Hinchman & Grylls. Architeclll are to assume that Edsel Ford was in- fluenced by his father's predilection for 37 EDSEL B. FORD HOUSE the Cotswold. Certainly the younger Ford's Alber! Kahn. Architect domestic environmenl was in marked con- trast to the industrial world of which he 38 ALVAN MACAULEY HOUSE was a leader; yet, in the house and Alber! Kahn. Architect grounds of the Ford estate lhere is a sense 39. STANDISH BACKUS HOUSE of large-scaled organi2:atloil and altentlon Ralph Adamll Cram. Architect to detail that one invaridbly associates with the industrial scene. 40. Garden Side 40 Michigan Society of Architects John t. l!lo~b h@UlII@ (45.) V(l1l"'Ll! to an !rjllhm~ I WXl d1iJ f){)rtll;r) Ihl'CltricCl!, Of itll sl!lnl!ln of budl In seems vcry livabl~l c:md tew brOt1d tro(l' e1 wht")l~ sIlCldl)d ti7rrac:o mOllt in'filing tr~'nd c,f !hll The house is well reluted t,) tho gmdon a qrt}i]tt~r (41.) where nwoeping bwn~, bClltlstr:ldeil, ),lI;;m;; Comlfl!'tablo and a charmmg pond ornamented with car",lully l'lI1dIICO:pod Baroque sculpture ':Ire notable filature!'! rrrd~, y:! domesllc labor liupply, own!ilr~ of Whatever scruples on~l may have n1(my of thll kngllr e:.;!u!em are being !orcl:Id turning back tho hands of the clock clrchi- to subdivide oonch houlle~, frequently tecturally speaking, it must be admitted af lllferlOr hybnd cle£iign and crockflr-box that architect and landscape architect of Cololllaia have sprung up on thll site of the Backus house have combined to create former lawns and, gardens. However, in a sotting of great beauty. sorno C(Il18a, Ellforts have bOliln made to assure a more pmclent control of riil'al The quest for grandeur reached its apex estate development; and it is safe to as- in Grosse Pointe in Mrs. Horace E. Dodge's sume that this trend will continue and house (42.) of 1934 on Lake Shore Road. something of the bllauty of full') existing The Philadelphia Francophile, Horace landscaping will be preserved 11.1$0 it Trumbauer, was called upon to conjure is not unrea!!lonable to hope that th",r~ .I'll! up a French LO'uis XV chateau on the still be a few families able to maintain shores of Lake Saint Clair. Somewhat be- some of the fin~r mansions. latedly he attempted to recapture the lus- tre O'f the Gilded Age; for nO' less, than If the Elscaplat dream of the Grodlllll!lPointe twenty years earlier he had built an almost of the firllt half of the twentieth century ill identical thO'ugh somewhat smaller palace rapidly fading, the prospect for the future for J. Hamilton Rice at Newport and in is not one of unmitlgated gloom Changing 1916 he had built one af America's mast concepts af taste may dictate IIll'Sllof a sumptuous houses for E. T. Statesbury at reliance on the imagery of the petst and Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. a greater utilization of the technologic:al and aesthetic develapment!; of the modern Much af the decar far "Rase Terrace", age; SQ, In thGl end, Groase Pointe wlll as the Dadge abode Was called, had been emerge a more b&filting ornament of the retrieved by Sir Jaseph Duveen from the industrial civili:1:ation from which it hall imperial palaces O'f Russia. There are IIlprung. Already the appearanCe of a v£m. French inlaid furniture, Beauvais tapestry guard of I;kilIfully designed modern dwell- chairs, faur Cases af Sevres porcelains. ings and public buidlings are a healthy and paintings by Boucher, GainesbarO'ugh. sign that a gaod beqinning hall been made and Van Dyck. Dr. William Valentiner, in that direction, Commenting on the new formerly Directar af the Detrait Institute of trend, Hugh T, Keyes h£l$ observed: "The Arts, "unhesitatingly proclaimed the com- World today is being made over 10 fit a pleted collection at least the equal af any new tempo of life, and it Is unthinkable French eighteenth century art ensemble in the world," that Detroit, leading the country in the advance of industrlql design, should be The depressian and the subsquentIy in- content to live In homes of the petst.M creasing taxation had its sobering effect upan architecture in Grasse Painte during While considering the future, II is reward- the thirties. Gane was the histrionic bra- ing, nevertheless, to glance backward in vadO', yet dignity cauld be maintained an attempt to reevaluate the past nat only with the discreet Georgian style. Its plain for the delight In doing so but also in durfaces and regular praportions came as order to face the future more intelligently; a welcome antidate to' the febrile fabrica- and we can only hope that the present tions O'f the previaus era. In fact its res- generation will crystallize their dreams of traint gave an even greater assurance of the future as assiduously as the past gen- being comme il taut. eration has evoked the lingering sauvenir of times gone by. Yet, putting aside these Handsame, if unimaginative, Gearglan imponderables, we can easily agree with houses rose everywhere in Grosse Pointe. Christopher Tunnard, who, on a recent visit Raymand Carey brought souvenirs of tide- to Grasse Pointe, summed up its past water Virginia with his porticoed Paul R. achievement by proclaiming lt "a suburb Gray house (43.) an Voltaire Place rising in good taste." praudly between its twin dependencies. A derivative of the Georgian, the Regency 41. Garden style is lighter in mood. Curved bay win- daws with delicate iron grille-work railings 42. MRS. HORACE E. DODGE HOUSE add grace to the Emory W. Clark house Horace Trumbauer. Architect (44.) of 1934 an Lake Share Road by Hugh T. Ke:'es. In spite of the samewhat dis- 43. PAUL R. GRAY HOUSE quieting praportians of this house, never- Raymond Carey, Architect theless the rather archeological quality 44. EMORY W. CLARK HOUSE af the detail tagether with the beautifully Hugh T. Keyes. Architect landscaped setting recreates effectively the atmosphere of the English cauntry seat. 45. JOHN LORD BOOTH HOUSE Another hause in the Regency vein is the Frank Miles. Architect

Michigan Society of Architects

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