Real Estate Blog

Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – 18 Holes of History – the Golf Course at the Country Club of Detroit

One of the most popular venues in the Grosse Pointe communities is arguably the golf course at the Country Club of Detroit. Set on 212 acres the club is steeped in history, as are the lush greens and fairways of this prominent course.

Over the years it has been home to a number of prestigious national amateur championships, including the U.S Amateur championship, last played at the course in 1954, won by Arnold Palmer.

The original course first opened in 1927, having been designed by British golf architects Harry Colt and Charles Hugh Alison. Together, during the 1920’s, they designed a number of famous courses throughout the United States. One of their most respected designs is the Milwaukee Country Club in 1929, a course ranked by Golf Digest,…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to 1051 Berkshire

Welcome to one of the most individual homes in Grosse Pointe – 1051 Berkshire. Not only does the house have a very individualistic design it was also one of the few residences created by the Detroit based firm of Donaldson & Meier.

Donaldson & Meier were well known for their church work in Detroit and southeastern Michigan. John M. Donaldson and Henry J. Meier founded the firm in 1880. Donaldson was born in Scotland in 1854 and immigrated to Detroit with his family as a child. He had a wide and varied architectural education – after graduating from school he returned to Europe to study at the Art Academy in Munich, Germany and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

John Donaldson – Courtesy of Wikipedia

Henry Meier – Courtesy of…

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Buying a Home in a Sellers Market

According to reports house prices are close to what they were before the recession, while inventory is at a 15-year low, which makes it a great time to sell. But what if you are looking to buy?

Many articles offer advice on what the seller should do, but in this increasingly aggressive market place it is just as important to focus on what the buyer should do.

If you are planning on buying a home in the near future, it is imperative you have a trusted advisor to guide you through the home buying process. With homes receiving multiple offers within hours of coming onto the market having a knowledgeable REALTOR® on board now will ensure you are alerted to suitable homes, get an appointment to see the house asap, and are able to negotiate an acceptable…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Provencal, The Private Street

Provencal Road in Grosse Pointe Farms is in every sense of the word ‘private’. A private street, with private homes, and with so little information available the history of many of the houses remains private.

Over the past few weeks we have gathered as much information as we could possibly find on this unique street. We know one home was moved from Indian Village to its current location on the first block of Provencal, and then there is the large Tudor residence reminiscent of an English Country Estate. We have found five homes created by English architect Raymond Carey, the four homes created by prominent local architect Robert O. Derrick, along with the three houses by distinguished designer Hugh T. Keyes.

This week we explore six homes on this…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to Three Mile Drive – An Eclectic Mix: Part 2

Having explored several homes on Three Mile drive last week, we continue our journey with the review of eight further homes. The creation of these homes span several generations – from one of the earliest to appear on the street, number 805 (in 1917) to one of the newer homes to be constructed, number 1011 (in 1954).

Despite the obvious age gap, the architects that were responsible were prominent designers in their respective era’s. Given that the change in architectural style altered significantly from the early 20th century through to mid century, it is a testament to the skill of these men that none of these homes look out of place on a street that has such an eclectic mix of homes.

So lets begin with one of the older homes on Three Mile Drive, …

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Welcome to Three Mile Drive – An Eclectic Mix: Part 1

Continuing with our series of blog posts profiling the homes on a specific street, this week we venture up Three Mile Drive and bring you the first of two blog posts on the eclectic mix of homes featuring everything from ballrooms to bomb shelters.

Arguably one of Grosse Pointes most prominent streets, Three-Mile Drive features a mix of large residences created by some of Detroit’s more accomplished architects. These designer’s contributed to creating a number of homes in Grosse Pointe at a time when the community was firmly establishing itself as one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in South Eastern Michigan.

The houses on Three Mile Drive are a mix of grand, unique and classically designed homes, encompassing Tudor, Spanish Villa, Georgian…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Dodge Mansion and The Houses on Harbor Hill

Once upon a time, many years ago there was a very successful auto baron by the name of John Dodge. The Dodge family moved to Detroit in 1886, where the two young brothers John and Horace took jobs at a boiler maker plant.

In 1900 John and Horace set up their own machine shop in Detroit. During their first year in business together the brothers’ were making parts for the automobile industry. Success came very quickly. Having won a contract to build transmissions for the Olds Motor Vehicle company in 1902 they were then contracted to build engines for Henry Ford, a deal that also included a share position in the new Ford Motor Company.

By 1910 they had built a plant in Hamtramck, and John was vice president at Ford. In 1913 John left Ford and joined…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Work of Lyle Zisler

We have previously covered the extraordinary work by a young, skilled, but lesser known architect by the name of Lyle F. Zisler. Mr. Zisler was an incredibly talented designer of Art Moderne homes. In 1937 he created two ‘stand out’ residences in this style in Grosse Pointe – located at 641 Oxford and 705 Pemberton.

However, like many of these highly skilled, yet lesser-known designers who created homes in the Grosse Pointe Communities, he was adept at devising homes in numerous architectural styles.

Lyle Zisler – courtesy of detroityes.com

There is very little known about Zisler, however we do know he was born in 1910, and died in 1958. He was the architectural editor in 1929 for Michigan Technic (a publication produced by the University…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Modern Colonial Work of Omer C. Bouschor – Part 2

Last week we covered the Tudor work of Omer C. Bouschor. During his career, this Detroit based architect created well over 29 homes in the community – more than many other architects.

The architectural style(s) that influenced Omer C. Bouschor’s homes in Grosse Pointe could be described as being defined by two very distinctive approaches. From the residences, we have presented there is a distinct shift from his Tudor Revival homes of the 1930’s, through to the modern colonial homes he created between 1935 and 1954.

This week we explore the 15 modern colonial homes he created across the Grosse Pointe communities. Given that Bouschor’s 14 Tudor inspired homes (during the 1930’s) are clearly the work of a man who was adept at one particular…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Tudor Work of Omer C. Bouschor – Part 1

As is the case with so many prolific architects who created homes in Grosse Pointe, it can be difficult to find information about them professionally and/or personally. This is no reflection on their skills as a designer, but attributed to the number of highly skilled architects who have worked in this area. We are spoilt for choice and it will no doubt take many more years to uncover the many projects that these lesser known, yet highly talented designers created.

This week we present an architect who certainly fits into this category – Omer C. Bouschor. During his career, this Detroit based architect created well over 29 homes in the community – more than many other architects.

Given the number of exquisite homes he has created we felt it was…

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