Real Estate Blog - Kay Agney

Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – 525 Lakeshore

This week we continue with our review of the lost estates of Lakeshore with our penultimate post about these wonderful homes.

Last week we reviewed the lost Ford estates, designed by Pittsburgh architect Albert H. Spahr. This week we focus on 525 Lakeshore – one of the largest estates to have ever graced Grosse Pointe – Deeplands, set on a colossal 80 acres. To give you a rough idea on the size of this estate, once the home was demolished and the land sub divided more than 80 homes (of varying sizes) were built on the area. Source: Grosse Pointe 1880-1930 by Madeleine Socia and Suzy Berschback.

Deeplands was built in 1911 for Henry D. Sheldon, and his wife Caroline. They were married in 1887 and had three children. Mr. Sheldon was born in…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Ford Estates – Designed by Albert H. Spahr

This week lets continue with our exploration of the lost estates of Lakeshore. So many of these wonderful homes have been lost over time with many of the properties being subdivided and sold for new projects.

Last week we featured 415 Lakeshore, the former home of Lieutenant Colonel J. Brooks Nichols, demolished in the late 1950’s. Now lets turn our attention to the work of Pittsburgh based architect Albert H. Spahr and the three homes, all of which are now gone, he created for the Ford siblings Mrs. Hetty Ford Speck, Mr. Emory L. Ford, and Mrs. Stellar Ford Schlotman.

The siblings, along with a third sister, Mrs. Nell Ford Torrey, were the grandchildren of John B. Ford, an American industrialist and founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company.

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – 415 Lakeshore

This week we continue with our review of the lost estates of Lakeshore. We have featured some wonderful homes, all of which have been lost overtime. Most recently we featured ‘Cherryhurst’ the home of Paul H. Deming located at 111 Lakeshore.

What makes the homes on Lakeshore so interesting, and also so difficult to research is how many of the house numbers have changed in Grosse Pointe Farms. The new numbers were issued in the late 1930’s. This is the case with many of the lost mansions we featured, including –

447 – 457 (Roy D. Chapin)

421 – 431 (William P. Stevens

273 – 259 (Frank P. Chesbrough)

429 – 437 (Richard H. Webber)

415– 421 (J. Brooks Nichols)

*red text denotes the house number we referenced.

We now turn our attention…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – 111 Lakeshore

Lets continue with our review of the lost estates of Lakeshore. Over the past few weeks we have featured some stunning homes, most recently the William P. Stevens estate – 431 Lakeshore.

The number of mansions that have been razed over the years is astonishing. According to an article in the Detroit News (1997) ‘of the 43 estates listed in a 1956 article about mansions in the Pointes, only 13 still exist’, and since 1997, more have fallen.

This week we turn our attention to 111 Lakeshore, also known as ‘Cherryhurst’ – home of engineer, and financier Paul Harvey Deming.

111 Lakeshore was built in 1907. It was one of the first year round residences to be built in Grosse Pointe Farms. French farmers first inhabited the two-acre site along…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – 431 Lakeshore

Over the past few weeks we have been delving into the history of several lost estates on Lakeshore. These have included the bygone properties of T. P Hall, Scott Whitcomb, Roy Chapin, William P. Stevens, and Richard Webber.

This week we return to the William P. Stevens estate – 431 Lakeshore – for a more in-depth review of this grand home.

Built in 1914 the home was reportedly designed by leading Detroit architectural firm Smith Hinchman and Grylls. Located back from the road, and originally accessible from Kercheval, it was a magnificent Georgian Revival brick home – an architectural approach that was extremely popular during this era, particularly in the larger estates that were being built in Grosse Pointe Farms.

When the house was…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – Part 3

Having recently featured the Whitcomb Estate, we continue with our series of the lost estates of Lakeshore. Last week we explored several large estate(s) close to the former Whitcomb residence – the bygone Roy Chapin, William P. Stevens, and Richard Webber properties. All of which have been razed over time, and have been replaced in one-way shape or form.

This week we continue along Lakeshore to an area between Harbor Hill and Kerby. Prior to 1950 this particular area of Lakeshore featured several magnificent residences including those of Frank P. Chesborough, Henry B. Joy, and David C. Whitney.

Starting in the early 1950’s these three residences were demolished within 10 years of each other – The Whitney Residence was one of the first of the…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – Part 2

Last week we featured the Whitcomb Estate, a fascinating story that began life as the Theodore Parsons Hall estate and now exists as the Cracchiolo residence.

Given the extensive changes to Lakeshore, and its estates over the years we decided to continue with our exploration of some of these exceptional properties. This week, in part two, we investigate the large estate(s) close to the former Whitcomb residence – the bygone Roy Chappin, William P. Stevens, and Richard Webber properties. All of which have been razed over time, and have been replaced in one-way shape or form.

So lets start with 431 Lakeshore. Built in 1914 it was reportedly designed, by leading Detroit architectural firm Smith Hinchman and Grylls for William P. Stevens. It was a…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Lost Estates – Part 1

Last week we featured 55 Tonnancour Place, the distinctive home that occupies a division of land that was once part of the extensive Theodore Parsons Hall estate.

After researching this home we became more intrigued about the Hall estate and the subsequent development(s) of the original Hall property.

Based on research by the Grosse Pointe Historical Society we know Mr. Theodore Parsons Hall purchased 63 acres of land in the 1880, and set about building an elaborate estate called Tonnancour. Mr. Hall had retired early, having made his fortune in the grain business, and dedicated much of his time to his estate, which he shared with his wife, Alexandrine, and their nine children. Part of the property included an eye-catching summer residence – a…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – 55 Tonnancour

Last week we featured one of the oldest homes in Grosse Pointe, the Cadiuex Farmhouse. This week we turn our attention to another notable residence – 55 Tonnancour Place – one of Grosse Pointe’s more distinctive homes.

The stunning Georgian revival home sits on one of the most distinguished streets in the Grosse Pointe communities, Tonnancour Place, which was originally part of the historic Theodore Parsons Hall estate. Mr. Hall had purchased the 63 acres of land, which stretched back 2 ½ miles from Lake St. Clair, in the early 1880’s, and set about building an elaborate estate called Tonnancour. This included an eye-catching summer residence on the property – a Victorian Swiss Chalet style mansion. Source: Thomas W. Brunk, courtesy of the Grosse…

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Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – The Cadieux Farmhouse

Once upon a time, many years ago, 1850 to be exact, a young man by the name of Isadore Cadieux built a house in Detroit. 168 years later the home is still going strong, and now sits in its fourth location. Lets take a look at the story of the Cadieux Farmhouse.

In 1701 the first French settlers arrived in Detroit. As you could imagine the country was vastly different to the shores of France, not only geographically, but also culturally, and environmentally. They started to build residences, but the challenges were monumental. The materials they used in their homeland were unavailable, they had to figure our a way to keep out the bitter cold, and a method had to be perfected to stabilize their structures in order to prevent them from sinking into…

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