Found 3 blog entries tagged as William Pitkin Jr..


Last week we presented the story of the lost garden at 241 Lake Shore, the former grand estate of Mrs. Henry Stephens (wife of lumber baron Henry Stephens Jr. who passed in 1910). The magnificent property was designed by Charles A. Platt in 1913. It was demolished in 1988.

This week we stay with 241 Lake Shore as we delve into the final part of the story – beginning in the late 1940’s, when it became known as the “Kanzler Mansion”, through to the properties dramatic conclusion in 1987.

After the original owner Mrs. Stephens passed on May 12, 1944, it appears 241 Lake Shore was purchased by Ernest C. Kanzler, a prominent figure in Detroit who had “full responsibility for converting the auto industry for World War II.” Source: Detroit Free Press…

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Last week we presented one of the lost homes of Grosse Pointe, 15500 Windmill Pointe which was recently demolished in the spring of 2024. Completed in 1928, it was designed by the architectural firm of Benjamin and Straight for Colonel Jesse G. Vincent.

This week we present the story of the lost garden at 241 Lake Shore, the former grand estate of Mrs. Henry Stephens, designed by Charles A. Platt in 1913. The property was demolished in 1988.

As most of you are aware, over the years Grosse Pointe has lost many fine estates. It is not just the magnificent homes that have gone but also countless gardens that were designed by some of the nation’s most noteworthy architects. This includes the superb gardens at 241 Lake Shore, created by William…

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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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