Houses Archives - Page 26 of 28

The House Hiding Behind The Trees

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

Roaming the back roads between Mt Pleasant and Remus, I found this old farm house hiding behind the trees. At one time this house must have been full of life as it raised a family inside celebrating birthdays and holidays. It stood proudly overlooking the fields of corn and wheat that supported the family, but as time went on the family grew older, and so did the house, only to be left alone looking at the fields of grass that took over the farm fields.

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The Unbelievable Transformation of the Ransom Gillis House in Detroit

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Detroit, Houses .

I finally got a chance to get a pic of the famous Ransom Gillis house in the Brush Park neighborhood of Detroit. This is the house that Nicole Curtis renovated for her HGTV show. I was down in Detroit a few years ago but I never took a pic of this house before Nicole started working on it. I did find a photo of it on Wikipedia from 2005, and it’s unbelievable how bad of shape the house was in before the restoration. I see beautiful old historic houses thought the state, but they are in need of serious restoration. I get a lot of comments that they are “too far gone” but I know a lot can be done, if someone is willing to do it. Money wise, it’s up for debate if it’s worth the investment to restore an old home, but it’s hard to put a price on history. you can build a new house, but you can build a new historic house.

The Ransom Gillis House in 2005: wikipedia

The Ransom Gillis House was built in 1876 at a cost of $12,000 for Ransom Gillis, a wholesale dry goods merchant. The property was sold by Gillis in 1880. The house and property passed though the hands of four different upper-income families between 1876 and 1919. After this time, the main structure was converted into a rooming house, along with most of the other structures on the street. The carriage house behind the structure was rented by Mary Chase Perry Stratton in 1903, becoming the first home of Pewabic Pottery (which you can read about in my post HERE). The pottery moved in 1906, and the carriage house was then occupied by an auto repair shop, a battery service shop, and finally a filling station, before being torn down and replaced by a restaurant in 1935. The restaurant operated until the 1960s and was demolished in 2005/2006, as part of the city’s “mothballing” work on the property.

The Ransom Gillis House brought to Detroit the Venetian Gothic style, made popular by John Ruskin’s book The Stones of Venice. The centerpiece of the structure is the turret situated in the front left corner, the circumference of which is accented by five rows of tiles of simple geometric designs in hues of bright blue, red, yellow, and brown. Similar tile work was spread throughout the rest of the structure. The base of the turret is decorated with stone carvings of quadruplets of flower blossoms, similar but all slightly different. The turret was supported from below by an ornate stone post. Dark ornately carved wood columns enclosed the porch at the entrance to the house. Lastly, a steep, dark slate mansard roof with ornate iron cresting completed the peaks in a traditional detail of the day

I hope to someday see the Ammi Wright house in Alma restored HERE or the Sleeper Mansion in Bad Axe HERE or the Cat Lady House in Saginaw HERE

P.S. I watched the Batman Vs Superman movie to see the house in the movie before it was renovated. they showed if for a few seconds. (There’s 3 hours of my life I will never get back.)

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The Gorgeous Dimmick House in Owosso

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

This Italianate Style house was built in 1876 along the Shiawasse River in Owosso by the Dimmick Family and is now a Bed and Breakfast . I saw this massive house on my first trip to Owosso a few years ago when I started my website and I have been trying to get a nice pic of it since then. it seemed like every time I try to take a pic of it, the light was not right or a car was parked in front of it, or something and when you live a long ways away its hard to just show up at the perfect time. As you can see I am finally posting a pic of it. I do get suggestions for places to photograph all the time but it may take me a while to get there and have the right conditions to make an nice Image.

Oh by the way, if you are ever near Owosso you should stop by for a visit, it really is a nice historic town with lots of beautiful old houses and a Castle too.

you can get a print of this pic or any of my images HERE

Please Note Facebook has once again changed and is really pushing me to pay to “boost” my posts and limiting what my followers see. It would really help me out if you sign up for email notifications so you know when I post something new, lots of people tell me they like getting my emails and I think you will too. if you don’t like it you can always unsubscribe.

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The Castle on Woodward in Detroit

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses, Iconic Buildings, Uncategorized .

This beautiful french renaissance castle on Woodward Ave. was the home of railroad and ship-building baron Col. Frank J. Hecker. In 1888, Hecker hired architect Louis Kamper and began construction on the mansion at Woodward Avenue on the corner of Ferry and Woodward. The massive home is 21,000 square feet, and is an imposing example of French Châteauesque style based on the Château de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. Hecker used his home to host elaborate parties where he entertained luminaries such as presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes.

The exterior of the home has large turrets at the corners, and Flemish dormers in the steep hip roof. Several bays project from the main body of the home, and wrapped around the whole is a balustraded, colonnaded loggia. A carriage house in the rear is clearly visible from Woodward. At one point this structure was converted into a concert hall capable of seating 200.

The interior has 49 rooms, including a large oak-paneled hall designed for large parties, an oval dining room done in mahogany, a lobby done in English oak, and a white and gold music room. The fireplaces were constructed of Egyptian Nubian marble and onyx and Italian Siena marble were used in the vestibules.

Hecker lived in the home until his death in 1927. For the next twenty years, the home was owned by the Hecker family, but operated as a boarding house for single college students. In 1947, the mansion was sold to Paul Smiley of the Smiley Brothers Music Company, who used it for musical instruction and practice, as well as a sales office. When Smiley died in 1990, the building was sold to Charfoos & Christensen, P.C. law firm that renovated the mansion, and it served as their law offices until 2014. In September 2014, Wayne State University purchased the house for $2.3 million for its Alumni Relations Department.

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The Old Historic Mansion in Bad Axe

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

Michigan Governor Albert E. Sleeper (Wikipedia)

So I was traveling thru Bad Axe (one of the best named cities in Michigan, but that’s a post for another day) last summer, and I saw this old mansion boarded up. I thought there has to be some history, or something significant about the house. Thanks to my followers on facebook, after I posted a pic, they told me that was former Michigan governor Albert Sleeper’s Mansion, that was turned into a funeral home that was closed, and now the house sits abandoned . It was a magnificent home, and I think that is what got my attention to photograph it. I hope someone will step up to restore it. The interesting thing is what I learned about about Governor Sleeper and why I am posting this photo today. On this date (April 19^th) in 1917 Governor Sleeper created the Michigan State Troops Permanent Force which became the Michigan State Police. Governor Sleeper also signed the State Parks Act creating the State Park system In 1944, Huron State Park in Caseville, was renamed Albert E. Sleeper State Park in his honor.

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The Old Farmhouse In The Snow

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I came across this old farmhouse in Presque Isle County standing silently in the snow drifted field. I wonder what it must have been like years ago to farm in northern Michigan being several miles from a large city. During the winter back in the days before four wheel drive trucks and snowmobiles a family must have depended on their house to survive the harsh Michigan winter. and while we are talking about the family that lived there, I bet they took their crops to this mill

you can get a print of this pic or any of my images HERE

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The Majestic Old Lapeer Hospital

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Houses .

In 1873 Peter Van Dyke built this Beautiful second empire style home on Pine street in Lapeer. Mr Van Dyke eventually sold the house to Samuel Tomlinson, editor of the Lapeer Clarion newspaper. In 1924 it was purchased by the Hunter sisters and, converted into a nine bedroom hospital with surgeries taking place on the upper floor. It was converted into apartments in 1953. According to this article, it’s supposed to be haunted, but I think it’s just a beautiful old building with a great history. it’s be

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The Haunted Bruce Mansion

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Haunted Places, Houses, Uncategorized .

Near Brown City in Burnside Township is this beautiful old Second Empire mansion built in 1876 by John G. Bruce who owned the Bruce and Webster General Merchants with his brother-in-law. Burnside township was originally Allison Township, but the name was changed in 1866 to honor Ambrose E. Burnside, a union general in the Civil War. John G Bruce was the postmaster for 16 years in Burnside. Most of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1881, but the mansion and general store was spared from the flames. in 1894 Bruce lost the general store to a fire, and rebuilt it with a brick building.

He eventually sold the home to Cynthia Smith who died in the house from a fever in 1921. Cynthia’s son sold the house and it changed owners a few times. It was eventually purchased by John Walker in 1926. Rumor has it, he was driving his automobile when he hit a pedestrian. Terrified at what he had done, he took the body back to the mansion and buried it somewhere on the estate. Some say the ghost of the victim, others say guilt, caused the man to lose his fortune and he hung himself in the old tower. It is said the be haunted, I am not sure about it but it is a beautiful old house and it’s kinda spooky with the ghostly light green paint and it seems like an odd location for an old mansion. you would expect to see something like it in one of Michigan’s large cities but not in the middle of farm country.

NOTE this house is NOT abandoned and please do not trespass and be respectful of the owners. you can follow their facebook page HERE

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The Painful Story of the State Trooper Murdered in 1959

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses, Murders .

A couple of years ago I was heading down Silver Lake Road in Argentine Twp and after rounding the corner, and at the top of the hill, was this old house. I knew nothing about the house, and it was the first time I ever saw it, but I had to stop and take a photo of it. Like most old houses I photograph, I know nothing about their history, but after posting a pic I had a few people tell me that was the house where a Michigan State Trooper was killed.

Michigan State Trooper Albert Souden

On September 3rd 1959 Trooper Albert Souden had driven to the house to investigate a robbery in Millford. His wife called the post to report he had never returned home. Within minutes of determining Trooper Souden had disappeared, the department mobilized an intensive search. The public response was also immediate. Floods of citizens, sheriff’s deputies, municipal police officers, and members of the Army and National Guard volunteered to join the ground and air search. The police arrested Alvin Knight the next day at a cabin in Traverse City. Knight was an ex-convict with a history of breaking the law and even spent time in an institution for the criminally insane. After repeated interrogations he would not tell law enforcement officers anything. It was only after Alber Soudens wife pleaded with him that he finally cracked and lead officers to the body and explained what happened.

When Trooper Souden knocked on the door the suspect was in his pajamas and he asked the trooper if he could change. After going upstairs to change he grabbed a gun and then got the drop on the officer and took his service revolver. He forced him at gunpoint to drive his patrol car to a farm and then marched him into the woods where he intended to tie him up so he would have time to escape, but Trooper Souden made an attempt to get away so he shot him with his revolver and buried him with some vegetation. Knight plead guilty to second degree murder, and was sentenced to 25 years.

Trooper Alber Souden was 29 years old and had a 7 month old baby, He was the 22nd MSP officer to die in the line of duty.

As for the house, it’s gone now. It was demolished a few years ago shortly after I took this photo.

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The lonely Old Farmhouse on M46

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Forgotten Places, Houses .

I drive by this old Farmhouse on M46 near Breckenridge frequently, and I always wonder what its story is. I imagine there was a nice hardworking family living there, and at night they must have sat around the TV watching Jackie Gleason while the house protected them from the harsh Michigan winters. Why TV, because there is remnants of the antenna still on the roof. Its like the digital revolution has passed by, and now the house is just sitting empty waiting for some attention.

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