Category Archives: castles

Frontier Castle

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In the heart of downtown Saginaw is a century-old castle. William M. Aiken designed this stately “French chateau” castle and the corner towers represented the defensive feature of frontier life. It was built for the post office and opened in 1898. At the time the post office was trying to build buildings that reflected the city they were constructed in. This is one of the few extravagant buildings the post office built probably after the cost of such buildings was unnecessary.

The post office outgrew the building and built a new one in the 1960s. Believe it or not this magnificent building faced demolition a few times but was saved and turned into a museum for the Saginaw County Historical Society.

If you live in Saginaw I will be giving a presentation on Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00 pm at the Zauel Memorial Library on Center Rd. If you are in the area I hope you will come out and listen to my story.

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The Stone House

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Among the houses in Lexington Heights is this ornate one of a kind stone house. It was built in the 1930s by Valentine Falzon, a stonemason from Malta using the stones and sand from nearby Lake Huron. It is a unique castle-like home and the interior is just as spectacular. You can see the inside in this video HERE

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A Miracle at Peterboro and Park

Posted on by Posted in castles, Detroit .

In Midtown Detroit on the corner of Peterboro And Park is the old James Scott mansion. The transformation that has occurred is nothing short of miraculous. It was not divine intervention that restored this historic old building, but good old fashioned hard work and money. If you want to see what it looked like before check out my post about it a couple of years ago HERE

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Michigan’s Hidden Castle

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Hidden away in a private community known as the Canadian Lakes is a marvelous concrete castle. In 1974, Developer Donald Bollman purchased swampy farmland between Mount Plesant and Big Rapids. He converted the area into a private community with lakes, golf courses and tennis courts for the residents and their guests to enjoy. He built this castle on one of three golf courses in the community. The lower floor serves as a banquet center and the upper floor was used as a residence for the Bollman family. After Donald died the family sold the castle to the Canadian Lakes Property Owners Corp.  The castle is known as the Highland Castle for the name of the golf course which is located next to it. The castle is used for weddings and private functions for residents of the community.

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A Cold Michigan Day, A Castle and a Book

Posted on by Posted in castles, Winter Wonderland .

If you have followed Lost In Michigan for a while you have probably seen photos of Curwood Castle in Owosso. It was the writing studio of James Oliver Curwood. He was a very successful author in the early 1900’s. Reading a good book is something I like to do on a cold winter day ( shameless plug for my book HERE) and I thought I would read one of his books. I went to my local library to find out they did not have any of his books on the shelves. I went on google and found there are several of his books that can be downloaded for free. They were published so long ago that they have fallen into the Public Domain. You can download Curwood’s books on Gutenberg.org HERE I am currently reading The Flaming Forest by Curwood and it’s an excellent book.

P.S. if your wondering Gutenberg invented the printing press and there is where Gutenberg.org gets its name from. they have many classic books available for download for free.

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The Grand Old Stone Castle

Posted on by Posted in castles, Houses .

Grand Rapids Castle house

This grand old castle in Grand Rapids was designed by local architect William G. Robinson, this castle-like edifice was constructed in 1884-86 for Colonel E. Crofton Fox and his brother Charles. Built of granite block imported from Scotland, this house is a fine example of Chateauesque Style architecture. A Heritage Hill landmark, this house features leaded and stained glass windows, and a metal stair dormer superbly crafted to resemble stone. Its interior is adorned with parquet flooring in the entry hall and a carved oak staircase. It was refurbished as a restaurant in 1978.

The Fox Brothers, Ethelbert Crofton (1852-1904) and Charles (1853-1915), local lumber barons, built this structure as their home. These brothers were partners in a Grand Rapids lumbering firm, Osterhout, Fox & Company, and accumulated vast wealth. Appointed to the State Military Board by Governor Cyrus Luce in 1887, E. Crofton, a colonel, was twice elected president of that organization. He was also associated with banking and was treasurer of the City Board of Trade. Charles was the founder of the Michigan Trust Company, established in 1889.

Currently it is the office of Stonecastle Dentistry

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The Wizard of Oz Castle in Michigan

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castle park michigan

 

Standing near the shoreline of Lake Michigan, south of Holland, is an old brick castle.  The castle was built in 1894 by German Immigrant and Chicago businessman Michael Schwarz.  The family with their six daughters lived in the castle for about a year but then moved to Holland and left the old castle abandoned. In 1896, Dr. John Parr purchased the Castle making it into a summertime camp for the boys and girls of Chicago Preparatory School in Chicago where he was the head minister.

It must have been a magical place for a summer camp and many of the children’s parents loved the area so much that they built summer homes near the camp.  Dr. Parr and his wife ran the camp until 1917 when his nephew Carter Brown and his wife took over the duties of running the camp. Over the years their children took over managing the camp. by 1960 the camp had grown tremendously, and the taxes and maintenance had become too much and the camp became Camp Park, a private association. The association owns the magnificent castle and it is used as a library and meeting place.

But as Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story. Author L. Frank Baum had a summer cottage nearby in Macatawa and it is said that the castle partly inspired the Wizard of Oz. and that some of the residents of castle park were his inspiration for a few of the characters in the book, such as the tinman.  Exactly how much the castle inspired Baum is unknown but west Michigan was where he went to relax and get away from the pressures of daily life.

Castle Park remains as a private community.

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