Peterbo and Park
ArchBlogger would like to take his hat off to both Historyguy and Olderdetroiter, whose comments below provided a wealth of information that A.B. was unaware of.
In particular, it's exhilarating to learn that the mansion at Park & Peterboro, featured five or so items down on the blog, belonged to the notorious Scott. Well done Historyguy!
As always, if anyone would like to slap A.B. around in person, you can write him directly at mhodges@detnews.com.
In the meantime, keep talking up Detroit architecture!
Peterbo and Park
The house in question was the mansion of James Scott (of Belle Isle Fountain fame). I'm not sure about the apartment section, but I seem to remember a story that Scott, who was a disliked and disputatious man, got into an argument with his next door neighbor and built an addition onto his mansion to block the other fellow's view. This may or may not be the apartment section appended to the house.
Church On West Chicago
Ebenezer AME Church was originally Nardin Park Methodist Church. The first unit (the Educational/Social unit and chapel was completed in 1928). Plans for the Sanctuary were interrupted by the Depression. Construction did not resume until 1941. The Sanctuary was dedicated in January 1943.
The architects of the building were Edward F. Jansson and Frank L. Venning of Chicago and Andrew R. Morison of Detroit.
The apartment building adjacent to New Light Baptist is the Nardin Court Manor. I don't have any information on when it was built or the architect. When Ebenezer bought the property, Nardin Park Methodist moved to Farmington Hills. They kept the Nardin Park name.
There are two other churches that closely border Nardin Park
(which I think has been renamed Richard Allen Park--after the founder of the AME church), Seth Temple COGIC (formerly Our Saviour Lutheran) and Nardin Park Reformed (now named Nardin Park Community Church). Both are on opposite sides of the street at West Boston and Dundee.
There are pictures of all these buildings at the Flickr.com site. Type "nardin park" (use the quotes} in the search box.
New Light Baptist Church
You can get alot of info. about a building, history ect. by going to the main library, across from the DIA, and looking into the Burton Collection... Happy Hunting.
Michael's downtown tour
Dear LG --
You're kind to write. The truth is, even as the Michigan economy collapses around our ears, much of downtown looks better than when I moved back here in 1991. And there's more, hopefully, on the way. While I don't much admire the outside of the Compuware Building, I credit the firm for moving from the leafy suburbs to downtown. And in the nearish future, Rock Financial -- which owns the Quicken network -- is also going to move from the western 'burbs to Campus Martius, adding another several thousand people to the downtown workaday population, which can only help.
What do you do in Seattle? I lived there 20 years ago. (And in fact, if you go to the second page -- I think -- of my architecture blog, www.detnews.com/architectureblog, you'll find a little essay on Seattle domestic architecture.)
If you see this and would like to continue to chat a bit, email me directly at mhodges@detnews.com. And thanks for reading The News!
- ArchBlogger
Michael's downtown tour
Great job Michael--it is amazing to see Detroit's downtown treasures looking so good. Decades ago, in the dispirited mid-70s, when Detroit was emptying and people seldom looked up, I led college students (many from the city or environs) into the downtown and through these very buildings, and it was revelatory for them, so conditioned were they to think of the city as of little value. But here first-hand they discovered the best of the best--amazing examples of the stunning bravura and majestic grace of the 20th century at its most confident. I have been gone for 30 years, but now to see these same buildings shining, with a spotlight from your work, it is fair to conclude that Detroit's reservoir of historic architecture is among its greatest and certainly most enduring assets. Thank you for making that evident, and I look forward to more.
Architecture Blog May 2, 2008
Hey -- you make good points on the Booth and Scripps manses near Grand River and Trumbull. I knew the Scripps mansion was somewhere in the neighborhood, but had no clue as to the Booths. Thanks for the cool info.
Architecture Blog May 2, 2008
A good blog on the former Trumbull Avenue Presbyterian church. I'm surprised, though, with your Cranbrook connection that you didn't mention that the Booth and Scripps homes were located in the area (I believe the gray stone entrance was to the former Booth mansion, and the pergola belonged to the Scripps home). Unfortunately (this being Detroit), both were torn down.
On another topic, would you put in a word for the many excellent photos of Detroit architecture on the flickr.com site?
Greening airports
With the discussion of emissions that are predominating the aviation and maritime industries due to the increasing detriment of global warming, greening airports may help in reducing the levels of pollutants that will ultimately enter our atmosphere.
By placing green walls throughout the airport, fresh air can be provided to patrons. Imagine your flight is delayed for a 8-10 hours, and you are stuck in transit - wouldn't you appreciate being able to sit near a wall which has plants to offer you some fresh oxygen after sitting in an airplane for 15 hours with another 8 hour flight to go - if you ever get on it.
So why not come to our conference and trade show in Baltimore, trade show open to the public, and get some ideas of how to incorporate green roofs and walls into your business, lifestyle, or even encourage facilities to take on the project.
Visit www.greenroofs.org/baltimore
Busy Bee Hardware Graffiti
Dear A.B.,
That bit of "jazzy graffito" behind Busy Bee Hardware directs the viewer to do his civic duty come November, i.e., VOTE!
Love your photos and blogs about the old, historic, and fascinating architecture of Detroit. Keep it up.
Dave Dowdy
Advance, NC
ww2etoheroes@yahoo.com
(336)998-7274
RSS feed???
I really would like to have this blog as an RSS feed. I noticed that it seems like quite a few blog in the Blog House of the Det News do not have the capability to be a feed. When you try to burn them too, you get a message that this page seems to be a website and not a blog. Can anyone help or get this message to the ArchBlogger?
TEst
test.
