Over the past couple of weeks we have presented two architects who were big names in the city, during the 1920’s, but were somewhat lesser known in Grosse Pointe – William Kapp and Rupert Koch. 

This week we journey back to the late nineteenth century and explore the Queen Anne style home of prominent Detroiter Henry Brockholst Ledyard.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century Grosse Pointe was a vastly different scene to the community we live in today. Land was at a premium and the area was becoming a ‘hotspot’ for wealthy Detroit businessman to build large summer cottages for their families. Many of the new constructions were typical of the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne architectural styles of that period. Given this was where families would…

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Last week we introduced you to the extraordinary work of William E. Kapp. He was a somewhat lesser known architect in Grosse Pointe, but was a ‘big name’ in the city. Under the employment of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls he created several iconic buildings including Meadow Brook Hall, The Detroit Historical Museum, and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

This week we continue our story by profiling another ‘big-name’ architect - but a lesser-known designer who came to Grosse Pointe – Rupert W. Koch.

Mr. Koch was a graduate of the University of Michigan and spent most of his career in Ann Arbor. He was one of the cities leading architects. One of his grand designs was the Ann Arbor mansion created for Leander J. Hoover, 1918. Set in an extensive 24 acre…

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Having spent the last couple of weeks on Merriweather (Part 1 and Part 2), we now turn our attention to a lesser-known architect in Grosse Pointe – William E. Kapp.

Mr. Kapp is one of those architects who was a ‘big name’ in the city, but only came to the Grosse Pointe to work on a handful of projects. This was also the case with a number of other premier designers including: Albert H. Spahr, John C. Stahl and Bloodgood Tuttle (to name but a few).

Kapp was born in Toledo, 1891. Having completed his architectural degree at the University of Pennsylvania he returned to Toledo to set up his own private practice. In 1918 he moved to Detroit. It is believed he worked for Albert Kahn, and then, in 1920, went to work for the prestigious firm of Smith,…

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Last week we introduced you to the street of Merriweather (Part 1), and its historical homes constructed between 1928 and 1931. We continue our journey this week with a review of some of the homes built between 1932 and 1939.

From researching the homes (we featured last week) it appears the residences on Merriweather cross a spectrum of architectural styles. The majority is in the colonial approach, however there are some wonderful examples of French inspired architecture, which was popular in Grosse Pointe during the late 1920’s through to the 1940’s.

1933
The extremely talented D. Allen Wright designed 170 Merriweather. Wright designed at least 15 houses (that we know of) in Grosse Pointe. Many of these residences (during the late 1920’s and…

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Having recently covered the work of versatile architect Hugh T. Keyes we now return to exploring one of the many significant streets in Grosse Pointe Farms – Merriweather. 

A couple of weeks ago we featured one of the earliest homes to be constructed on Merriweather, number 175, designed by accomplished architect Louis Kamper. Having provided you with a brief insight into the history of the prestigious road lets now return to the street and explore some of the other wonderful homes that are on display. 

Merriweather was originally part of a large cherry orchard. Based on research by the Grosse Pointe Historical Society we know that ‘prior to the 1940s, the area was an expanse of undeveloped fields from Merriweather to Cloverly Road in the block…

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