Last week we explored another of Grosse Pointes lost estates, 735 Lake Shore, a grand Tudor mansion designed by Albert Kahn for Alvan Macauley, in 1930, which was demolished in 1974.

This week we travel to 1 Rathbone Place. Sitting on close to 1 acre of land, running from Jefferson to the lake, this beautiful home was designed by famed Detroit architect, Louis Kamper, between 1917-1918, for John G. Rumney. Image courtesy of Grosse Pointe Historical Society.

1 Rathbone Place, an Italian Villa, is a particularly striking home. The three magnificent archways dominate the front elevation, as does the low sloping tiled roof, and the large overhanging eaves. As you would expect with any creation by Kamper the 6,805 sq ft home is filled with superb…

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Last week we explored one of Grosse Pointes lost estates, 17100 E. Jefferson, a magnificent home designed by the firm of Trobridge & Ackerman for Dexter M. Ferry Jr., in 1915 - demolished in 1959.

This week we would like to present another superb home that has been lost – 735 Lake Shore, created by Albert Kahn in 1930, for Alvan Macauley. The home was one of the architectural masterpieces that were constructed on the shores of Lake St. Clair during the golden era of stately mansions. It was one of the ‘stand out’ estates on Lake Shore Drive. But, like so many of them demolished to make way for a subdivision.

The grand Tudor inspired home was located on 52 acres (20 acres were in Grosse Pointe Woods). The estate stretched from Lake Shore to…

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Last week we presented 560 Cadieux, a superb arts and craft home created in 1911 by architect Frank E. Hill for the Breitenbach family.

This week we return to our series on Grosse Pointe’s ‘lost estates’ and present 17100 E. Jefferson, designed by the firm of Trowbridge & Ackerman for Dexter M. Ferry Jr., built in 1915. Over the past few weeks we have presented a couple of estates, in the same area, that have subsequently been demolished – 16850 E. Jefferson (demolished 1981), and 17000 E. Jefferson (demolished in the 1970s). 

17100 is part of this distinctive group of homes that were located on large plots of land on the shores of Lake St. Clair, it was demolished in 1959 – one of the first of the grand estates to go.All three of these…

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Last week we explored another of Grosse Pointe’s ‘lost estates’ – 17000 E. Jefferson, designed by George W. Graves for Oren S. Hawes, built in 1914.

This week we would like to present 560 Cadieux, created in 1911 by architect Frank E. Hill for the Breitenbach family. 

Given that 17000 E. Jefferson and 560 Cadieux were built within three years of each other, this presents a superb example to the range of the architectural styles and trends that were present in Grosse Pointe at the beginning of the 20th century.  There are the grand, formal brick built colonial homes, such as the magnificent homes on Jefferson, and yet just around the corner there is a wonderful example of an Arts and Craft home, a style that was becoming extremely popular…

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Last week we explored one of Grosse Pointe’s ‘lost estates’ – 16850 E. Jefferson, also known as the Sycamores, designed by Bryant Fleming for Wesson and Winifred Dodge Grey Seyburn.

This week we stay with the lost estates and present a close neighbor of the Seyburn house, 17000 E. Jefferson.

17000 E. Jefferson was commissioned by Oren S. Hawes and was completed in 1914. George W. Graves designed this unique home, which appears to be quite different in style to the large colonial homes that were being constructed during this era. With a perfect view of the lake, the lot size and shape was very similar to that of 16850 E. Jefferson, in that it was once again extremely narrow (67’ x 1000’).

Constructed from brick it features a large amount of…

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Last week we introduced you to 1040 Harvard, one of the earlier residences George D. Mason designed in Grosse Pointe.

This week we are going to explore one of Grosse Pointe’s ‘lost estates’ – 16850 E. Jefferson, also known as the Sycamores. Last year we ran a series of posts, presenting the lost estates of Grosse Pointe. Many of these estates were completed in the early 20th century, and were subsequently demolished from the 1950’s onwards. The reason for the demolition(s) included – the homes were too big to maintain, structural problems, new owners wished to sub divide the plots. The Sycamores is part of this fascinating group, and its time to tell the story of this magnificent home.

16850 E. Jefferson was commissioned by Wesson and Winifred…

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Higbie Maxon Agney is pleased to offer our 2018 Grosse Pointe Real Estate Annual Report. Within this report you will find information on average sale prices, sales volume, real estate trends, and much more.

Our goal is to give you an accurate and complete picture of the 2018 Grosse Pointe housing market. All of the graphs were produced internally for Higbie Maxon Agney using MiRealSource multiple listing service. We are confident that these are the best statistics currently available on the Grosse Pointe housing market, and we hope that you will find the contents of this report readable and useful. Over the coming months we will use this information to help our clients make informed, educated real estate decisions.

We look forward to assisting…

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Last week we presented 15840 Lakeview Court. This sensational home was built in 1931 by George D. Mason and was one of the latter homes he designed towards the end of his career. 

This week we stay with the work of Mr. Mason and take a look at one of his earliest projects in Grosse Pointe, 1040 Harvard. As we mentioned last week Mason first appeared in the community in 1882, when the firm of Mason & Rice was commissioned to design ‘Edgmere’ for Joseph Berry. Fast-forward to 1916, Mason now has his own firm and has been commissioned by John W. Staley to create a large home on Harvard. 

John W. Staley was one of the best known of the younger bank officers’ in the United States. Born in Danville, Pa. he graduated from Albion College, Michigan…

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Last week we introduced you to the homes designed and/or built by Carl L. Meek, a known architect (and builder) in Grosse Pointe during the late 1920’s.

This week we would like to present 15840 Lakeview Court. This sensational home was built in 1931 by one of Detroit’s architectural superstars, George D. Mason for Albert H. Schmidt.

As renowned Detroit historian Clarence M. Burton once wrote, quite simply George DeWitt Mason was “the dean of Detroit architects”. In a city that boasts the sublime skills of Albert Kahn, and Louis Kamper, Mason takes his place alongside these two great designers as the men responsible for many of Detroit’s iconic buildings. During a career that lasted 50 years George D. Mason created numerous historic buildings in…

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Last week we explored the two homes on Jefferson designed by Wallace Frost for the Bowen brothers – 16628 and 16632 East Jefferson.

This week we are going to explore some of the homes designed and/or built by Carl L. Meek, a known architect (and builder) in Grosse Pointe during the late 1920’s. Meek designed, and built, several homes in the community, including: 

  • 610 University Place (1926)
  • 604 University Place (1928)
  • 587 University Place (1928)
  • 598 University Place (1929)
  • 592 University Place (1929)
  • 229 Merriweather (1928)
  • 160 Touraine (1928)
  • 679 and 525 Rivard (1928)
  • 621 Fisher (1929)
  • 31 Renaud (1930)

Very little is known about Carl L. Meek and his career, but he was responsible, during the 1920’s, for not only…

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